AFG: Projects: Children: Sick
Bobokvati Clinic
Personal Observations from the Executive Director: In 2003, I was contacted by a Georgian doctor now living in New York who wanted me to go to the Bobokvati Clinic and talk to the staff there when I next visited Georgia. The doctor said that they needed to know that, “Someone, somewhere in the world cares. It would give them hope:” Bobokvati Clinic is in Adjara, Western Georgia and cares for 7,000 patients. This region used to be the most prosperous part of Georgia—tourism, tea, citrus, etc. The market in Russia for the tea and citrus collapsed after Georgian independence. Ten years ago the clinic was ruined in a flood. Since then the government has not provided any funds to fix it. When I asked the charming pediatrician Dr. Zaal Mikeladze, who is trying to treat the local children in these terrible conditions, what he needed he said with a wry smile, “Everything.” The dentist on staff showed me his dental chair but no water reached the inside of the building so he could not actually treat anyone. They truly have nothing with which to treat their patients.
AFG Accomplishments: In 2004, AFG had finally raised enough funds to be able to help this project. AFG has:
- Provided $500 which was used to reconnect electricity and water to the clinic
- Provided $1,000 for a new toilet unit, repair of an exterior wall and a leaky roof and the painting of two rooms
- Provided $1,000 to paint and install new windows, doors, flooring and additional roofing
Current Needs: The Bobokvati Clinic needs funds to:
- Rebuild the pediatric/gynecology and obstetrics’ unit which is the primary need. This entails creating an enhanced waiting room, preparations rooms, examining rooms and toilets. Walls and ceilings need repair. Lighting and windows will also be required
- Obtain medical equipment including a portable electrocardiogram machine
- Purchase medicines for patients, especially those suffering from tuberculosis