Social centres to give Georgia’s displaced sense of community
This October, World Vision Georgia, together with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) through funding from the U.S. government, opened Social Community Centers (SCCs) in Karaleti and eight other settlements to support community integration and empowerment for both men and women and all age groups in the new settlements.
The war has drastically changed my life. Sometimes I feel very hopeless More than 1,600 IDPs live in the Karaleti settlement, 23km south of the South Ossetia administrative border. They are still in need of psychological, social, and financial aid to help them continue to adapt to their new surroundings away from their native homes. Many still suffer from and are haunted by last year’s bitter memories.
Vasil Rtskhiladze, 52, who is originally from Akhalgori, now lives in Karaleti and is continually concerned for his family’s wellbeing and future. For him and his family, it is still very difficult to precisely recall what happened 15 months ago and to understand what is happening to their lives 15 months after.
“I used to live in a very peaceful environment in my village,” he said. “The war has drastically changed my life. Sometimes I feel very hopeless.”
This hopelessness is felt by many like Vasil who have been displaced from their homes and their ways of life. Many of the IDPs used to live in villages and worked in the agricultural sector, but now they no longer have fields, orchards, or animals to tend. This hopelessness is compounded by the fact that most residents are now unemployed and lack opportunities to find work in their field or develop new skills for new employment.
SCCs, like the one in Karaleti, are created to establish community structures and empower the community to find self-help mechanisms to address the problems they face, particularly in taking care of the most vulnerable amongst them. The activities in these centres will be designed in a way that they can be realistically taken over by the local community given their limited resources. World Vision has already begun offering computer training courses in these centres, and will also offer activities for the youth and elderly to participate in together, as well as activities specific for children and youth.
As multi-purpose centres, World Vision and other organisations, including other NGOs and government bodies, can host activities, workshops, and meetings for IDPs living in these settlements, as well as for residents in neighbouring villages. Community members themselves can use these spaces for town hall meetings and any other activity the community deems necessary.
“A year after the conflict, more long-range problems are coming to the surface, especially for those who now live in the newly created villages,” said Vano Grigolashvili, World Vision’s Humanitarian & Emergency Affairs (HEA) and Livelihood Development Programme Director “Their needs are more complicated and we are dealing with issues of livelihood and skill development; they need help in rebuilding their lives.”
Now we have a place where we can discuss our problems and define measures to solve them Marin Kajdomcaj, head of UNHCR office in Shida Kartli thanked World Vision Georgia for its contribution and the U.S. government for providing funding for UNHCR to create these centres to help IDPs further integrate into local communities. He also underlined that “these local integration efforts do not undermine the right of IDPs to return to their places of origin in dignity and safety.”
“We are very grateful for this opening [of the Karaleti SCC]. Now we have a place where we can discuss our problems and define measures to solve them,” Marina Inauri, 25, an IDP living in Karaleti, said. “I am glad that youth, including myself, in our village will have an opportunity to learn computer skills and get new skills in order to find jobs.”
Koba Subeliani, Minister of the Refugees and Accommodation of Georgia, also took part in the opening of the Karaleti centre and expressed his thanks to World Vision Georgia, UNHCR, and the U.S. government for their successful cooperation in assisting IDPs living in the settlement.
The nine SCCs will assist 4,276 IDPs living in these new settlements. The creation of these centres is a continuation of World Vision’s ongoing work to help the people and communities affected by the 2008 August conflict.
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The war has drastically changed my life. Sometimes I feel very hopeless More than 1,600 IDPs live in the Karaleti settlement, 23km south of the South Ossetia administrative border. They are still in need of psychological, social, and financial aid to help them continue to adapt to their new surroundings away from their native homes. Many still suffer from and are haunted by last year’s bitter memories.
Vasil Rtskhiladze, 52, who is originally from Akhalgori, now lives in Karaleti and is continually concerned for his family’s wellbeing and future. For him and his family, it is still very difficult to precisely recall what happened 15 months ago and to understand what is happening to their lives 15 months after.
“I used to live in a very peaceful environment in my village,” he said. “The war has drastically changed my life. Sometimes I feel very hopeless.”
This hopelessness is felt by many like Vasil who have been displaced from their homes and their ways of life. Many of the IDPs used to live in villages and worked in the agricultural sector, but now they no longer have fields, orchards, or animals to tend. This hopelessness is compounded by the fact that most residents are now unemployed and lack opportunities to find work in their field or develop new skills for new employment.
SCCs, like the one in Karaleti, are created to establish community structures and empower the community to find self-help mechanisms to address the problems they face, particularly in taking care of the most vulnerable amongst them. The activities in these centres will be designed in a way that they can be realistically taken over by the local community given their limited resources. World Vision has already begun offering computer training courses in these centres, and will also offer activities for the youth and elderly to participate in together, as well as activities specific for children and youth.
As multi-purpose centres, World Vision and other organisations, including other NGOs and government bodies, can host activities, workshops, and meetings for IDPs living in these settlements, as well as for residents in neighbouring villages. Community members themselves can use these spaces for town hall meetings and any other activity the community deems necessary.
“A year after the conflict, more long-range problems are coming to the surface, especially for those who now live in the newly created villages,” said Vano Grigolashvili, World Vision’s Humanitarian & Emergency Affairs (HEA) and Livelihood Development Programme Director “Their needs are more complicated and we are dealing with issues of livelihood and skill development; they need help in rebuilding their lives.”
Now we have a place where we can discuss our problems and define measures to solve them Marin Kajdomcaj, head of UNHCR office in Shida Kartli thanked World Vision Georgia for its contribution and the U.S. government for providing funding for UNHCR to create these centres to help IDPs further integrate into local communities. He also underlined that “these local integration efforts do not undermine the right of IDPs to return to their places of origin in dignity and safety.”
“We are very grateful for this opening [of the Karaleti SCC]. Now we have a place where we can discuss our problems and define measures to solve them,” Marina Inauri, 25, an IDP living in Karaleti, said. “I am glad that youth, including myself, in our village will have an opportunity to learn computer skills and get new skills in order to find jobs.”
Koba Subeliani, Minister of the Refugees and Accommodation of Georgia, also took part in the opening of the Karaleti centre and expressed his thanks to World Vision Georgia, UNHCR, and the U.S. government for their successful cooperation in assisting IDPs living in the settlement.
The nine SCCs will assist 4,276 IDPs living in these new settlements. The creation of these centres is a continuation of World Vision’s ongoing work to help the people and communities affected by the 2008 August conflict.
-Ends-
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