Newsletter - Summer 2007
American Friends of . . . Bediani Village Kindergarten at Shelter for Single Mothers
In 2006, AFG sent a grant to the Bediani Shelter for Single Mothers so they could renovate one of their houses for use as a kindergarten. In April 2007, Abbess Mariam opened the Bediani Village Kindergarten for a dozen children, ages two to six. The kindergarten provides high quality education, playtime with learning, nurturing day care, and two meals a day.
While their children are in kindergarten, the mothers are able to acquire work habits and vocational skills necessary for their own return to society.
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Giorgi with Mother Antonina |
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| Giorgi (on left) with some of his friends at the Shelter Photographer: Maka Mikeladze |
In May, after the fundraiser in Tbilisi, Abbess Mariam and Executive Director Marusya Chavchavadze went to Bediani to see the new kindergarten and take photographs. The nuns told Marusya that now that the children have a kindergarten, they are calmer because the challenging activities focus their attention.
After their visit to the Shelter and Kindergarten, Abbess Mariam and Marusya flew to London to meet with a large corporate charity and to apply for funding for educational materials, children's cots, diapers, first aid medicines, teacher salaries, and more to run the kindergarten for one year. AFG is happy to report that this corporate charity (which wishes to remain anonymous) has just awarded AFG and Abbess Mariam a grant of $21,820 for the Kindergarten.
Additional funding is needed now for indoor plumbing and installing a bathroom in the kindergarten. Learn more about the Shelter for Single Mothers or about how you can help .