Representative of the Mayor in the village - this is quite a serious and important position. People on this position can play a serious role in the prevention of violence. Therefore, the Women Fund "Sukhumi" started a cycle of trainings with them. 77 representatives of Zugdidi, Samtredia and Senaki municipalities attended the first training.

The training discussed the role of local governments in gender equality, prevention and response to domestic violence. The attention was paid to the forms of civil participation, mechanisms for protection from violence, cooperation with the entities of the referral mechanism...

The pandemic prevented the work of the forum - theater. Now pleasant innovations have begun: the group was filled with new actors, new scenes were written, rehearsals and performances were updated. In March, the forum - theater held two performances in Kutaisi, in the open air.

The group of young actors is planning an even more active spring - they will travel to different municipalities, show the viewer scenes on actual topics, and then there will be discussions so that everyone can see the problems and ways to solve them...

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

"Today I saw my responsibilities in a different prism; I realized that a lot depends on me in terms of having an active population in the community".

"I have heard topics that I have heard about, but it turns out I did not know them."

"Representatives of the Mayor are the implementers of our policies in their community, so it is important for us to help them to improve their skills"...

These are the evaluations of the participants. The online training was attended by 82 people from Bagdati, Vani and Terjola municipalities: representatives of the Mayor in the village (55 participants) and their assistants. They were provided with information on a variety of issues, including:

Members of the Youth Empowerment Center of five municipalities (Kobuleti, Chokhatauri, Senaki, Tsalenjikha and Bagdati), their parents and teachers, school directors, representatives of Youth Department and the Gender Equality Council of the municipalities attended online summarizing meetings.

The centers presented a report of six-month active work. Significant results and changes were seen in the presentations and emotional speeches of the youth. They said how important it is for them to participate in the initiated events, to work in a team, to acquire serious training knowledge and a lot of skills.

The Women Fund "Sukhumi" awarded certificates to the participants and young trainers of the training course and certificates of appreciation for the support and cooperation to the schools involved in the process.

The lawyer of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" held consultation meetings for the beneficiaries of the Women Support Centers of Tkibuli, Terjola and Senaki.

The lawyer also gave three online legal consultations to the beneficiaries of the Women Support Centers of Samtredia, Vani and Chokhatauri - on the issues of changing the surname, also alimony and divorce.

The lawyer actively worked in the rehabilitation center together with a social worker and psychologist of the Women Fund “Sukhumi”. Women-victims of domestic violence living in the center, received the legal consultations on interesting issues.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

Joint comprehensive daily intensive psycho-rehabilitation work was carried out with two women in the Rehabilitation Center of the Women Fund "Sukhumi". One woman has two children, and the other is the mother of four children.

Young women are victims of domestic violence, traumatized since childhood, socially unprotected. They receive help and support in their municipalities, but such complex work was very important for them. During their two weeks at the Rehabilitation Center, several of their problems were resolved and they received advises for solution of other problems. A social worker, a lawyer and a psychologist were actively involved in working with women and children.

“We have no words to express gratitude for the unusually bright days”, noted the women. Communication with them will continue.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

The psychologist of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" held offline meetings organized by Tkibuli and Terjola Women Support Centers. Online group meetings were held with the beneficiaries of Chokhatauri, Bagdati and Khurcha (Zugdidi municipality) Women Support Centers.

The work was also carried out in other directions: online sessions with two married couples, online individual psychotherapeutic sessions with participation of 18 beneficiaries from the regions and 13 from Kutaisi. In March, 5 people addressed a psychologist for the first time.

32 years old: “Thank you for your great work and your time. I not only got rid of fear, but also matured for big changes in my life, I began to enjoy the little things,” these are the words of one of the beneficiaries.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

She is one of the students, who is passing a course on working with polymer clay. The course is successfully functioning in the Day Rehabilitation Center of the Women Fund "Sukhumi".

- You can't imagine how my life improved, it turns out that many diseases really start from fears and stress. I am very grateful for my better health, restful sleep- she says.

This is one of the results of the work of a psychologist with the beneficiaries of the Day Center. The psychologist conducts a weekly rehabilitation session with victims of domestic violence from families living below the poverty line. Together with the psychologist, a social worker and a lawyer from the Women Fund “Sukhumi” are actively involved in the work.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

Letter from our Donor Organization -Brot  für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

Berlin,17 March 2022

Dear sisters and brothers,
Dear friends and colleagues,
Dear partners in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries,
We cannot imagine your situationatthe moment.And we lack words to expressour feelings as we witness theimmeasurableamount ofsuffering in these days.War isincredibly horribleandcruel, war leads to destruction and death–warcontains everything which we wantedto overcome together in common serviceand inourpartnershipfor life in dignity.War is aterrible attempt to cutconnections and to divide humans, it is carried out to destroyclose andlongtermrelations.
At the moment our means to change thissituationare limited. But we wouldliketo reassure you that we want to dofor youwhateverispossible.We want tosupport you and stand with you as much as we can. Please tell us what youneed, what is happening, what we can do for you now–because situations andneeds change quickly. We build on information from your side when we takedecisions.We try to react as fast as we can and to be as flexible as possible. Ourhumanitarian branch Diakonie Katastrophenhilfehas installed anemergencyfund, and wereceivedonationsin order to expand this fund. We are alsoclosely connected to political and ecumenical processes of dialogue, we areengaged in building bridges between countries and groups and conflictingparties. We raise our voice together with churches and civil societyorganizations–and we speak out also for those who at the moment have nochanceto raise their voices.We put as much resources as possible into disasterrelief, and by doing sowe want to express active solidarity with our partners inUkraine and with all refugees in the neighbouring countries, as well as with the refugees who come toGermanyin these days.

Consultative meeting was held with Zugdidi IDP Women Initiative Group. The group members were prepared to conduct the survey.

40 women with different statuses living in different collective centers will be interviewed in Zugdidi Municipality. The aim of the survey is to establish a social profile of IDP collective centers and privatized facilities.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization