Displaced Two Decades On

Internal conflicts in the early 1990s in Georgia have resulted in the displacement of the population from Abkhazia (1992) and South Ossetia (1989-1992 and later in 2008). Currently in Georgia there are approximately 230,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions, representing about 6 percent of the population of Georgia. After the conflicts some of the IDPs were accommodated in compact settlements or collective centres; others found shelter individually – with relatives or friends, or they rented a flat. Living conditions at the majority of collective centres are difficult. IDP families living in the private sector face similar difficulties. 

A primary assessment of the 1989-1992 conflict IDPs residing in Shida Kartli revealed the dire conditions in which some of these families are living. In addition to the dysfunctional buildings, they have limited opportunities for income generation, and as a result are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty. 

World Vision Georgia, with the support of numerous donors, handled multiple projects to meet the various needs of IDPs, including humanitarian aid assistance (food and non-food items), shelter and reconstruction, socio-economic development, and agricultural development. 

World Vision's emergency response programme:

• distributed 4,150.86 metric tonnes (MT) of food to 340,187 people
• provided non-food items including more than 1,450 pieces of apparel and 800 shoes, 1,290 school kits, 4,825 various school items, 1,000 books, and 30,700 hygienic items
• distributed 16,342 textbooks to vulnerable children from 1-6 grades in the Kaspi, Kareli, and Khashuri regions
• winterised 19 collective centres in the Kaspi region
• established 9 Social Community Centres in 9 new settlements in the Shida Kartli region for community integration and empowerment
• conducted ttraining sessions on modern agricultural technologies for nearly 5,100 farmers
• provided veterinary services to the livestock of 19,055 households and;
• distributed 1.5 tonnes of fodder for livestock among 6,277 households