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 In May 1991, Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union and, since 1994, American Friends of Georgia, Inc. (AFG) has helped hundreds of people improve their lives during the difficult post-Soviet transitional period. Our Georgian partners and AFG-funded projects offer care and support to abandoned and sick children, single mothers, the elderly and other vulnerable Georgians.
Unlike many charitable organizations, AFG staff and our Georgian partners are “on-the-ground-level.” We work side-by-side with our project partners to assist needy Georgians, and see – every day – how determined they are to improve their lives.
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 AFG is a small non-profit organization that has had success because our partnerships are based on mutual trust and respect. Our Georgian partners have the creativity and freedom to tell us what they need, when they need it—and not what we think they should have. We stay with a project until both sides are confident that self-reliance is achieved.
My one desire when I went to Georgia to see where we could help was that AFG would do something real. I was looking for the right people to trust.
And I found them.
The first person I met when I went to Georgia was Mother Mariam, Abbess of the Transfiguration Convent in the center of Tbilisi. Young, dynamic, practical and deeply spiritual, I started to help her in her efforts to look after the street children, the main problem in Georgia at that time.
Georgians.
Mother Mariam started the first children’s shelter in Georgia, and her dedication has most recently led to a new Shelter for Pregnant Women and Single Mothers in Bediani and the first Hospice and School for Hospice Nurses in Georgia. Mother Mariam is one of several dedicated partners with whom we have forged a lasting relationship. She and the many doctors, social workers, teachers, parents, university students and countless others are rebuilding Georgia, one step . . . one brick . . . one child at a time.
When you read more about our project histories and descriptions you’ll see much remains to be done. We hope you’ll forward this newsletter to your friends and family so we can tell others about the extraordinary Georgians who are striving, every day, to rebuild their lives and their country.
Sincerely,
Marusya Chavchavadze
Executive Director
American Friends of Georgia, Inc.
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“My name is Elizbar Shindagoridze and I am 18 years old. I came to live at Dzegvi children’s house when I was 9. At that time, my mother and my brother, sister and I were living in the streets of Tbilisi. Now, we have our own cow and raise enough food to eat well from our garden. I would like to be a veterinarian and plan to apply to the University this year.”
Lena Kiladze, art teacher at Dzegvi, says: “When
I first started teaching Elizbar, he did not speak a lot with me, but all his drawings were very cheerful, always full of positive emotion and lots of color. He loved to sign his name Elizbar - with each letter in a different color!”
Elizbar is just one of 6-10 former “street” children who live in a home purchased by AFG. Young university students act as their parents and live onsite. Learn more about the Dzegyi Orphanage and Bediani Village.
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 AFG first learned of the appalling condition of the Children’s Department at the National Cancer Center in 2001. At the time, a beautiful new common room (renovated through the efforts of a U.S. Air Force Captain) stood in stark contrast to the disrepair and dinginess of the hallways, bedrooms, bathrooms, dining room and other rooms.
Two years later, with AFG’s assistance, a gleaming transformation has occurred: the morale of both staff and families has been boosted significantly, and this fully renovated hospital department is one of the few modern facilities in Georgia.
Now, The Center has been offered a significant grant from the International Atomic Energy Agency to upgrade their radiotherapy equipment. However, this grant is contingent upon the completion of significant renovations to the rooms where the equipment will be installed. Learn more about the work of The National Cancer Center.
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At AFG, we cherish our relationships with two kinds of partners – Georgian Partners who do the hands-on work in their country and others (including foundations, organizations and individuals) who fund the needs of each project.
An American friend introduced our work to Mrs. Nef of the Evelyn Stefansson Nef Foundation. Thanks to Mrs. Nef’s interest in helping the mentally ill, elderly and children, she contributed very generously to four of our projects. Her support has helped AFG do the following:
 - Children in all AFG projects benefit from Lena Kiladze's Art Education Project for Vulnerable Children. Funds pay for volunteer artists and musicians to travel to AFG’s projects for abandoned and sick children, and also pay for children to visit cultural institutions.
- A used vehicle, purchased by the Foundation, now delivers medical assistance and drugs to homebound patients of the Tbilisi Psychoneurological Dispensary.
 - Funding to renovate and open a gleaming new facility in Tbilisi, the first Geriatric Department at the Institute of Psychiatry specifically for patients who cannot be cared for at home. The Foundation also funded the creation of the facility’s first-ever Activity Club for lonely seniors.
- Grants to purchase a hospice building and an ambulance for Mother Mariam’s newest project, Mercy Center, the first hospice and School for Hospice Nurses in Georgia.
We feel very fortunate to have the Nef Foundation’s vital support and are always happy to hear from new partners – both large and small - who want to offer their support to the people of Georgia.
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Please forward this newsletter to a friend so others may learn more about our work - thanks! |
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