A journey of returning to faith for rural communities

GEORGIA- Beyond the dusty and unpaved village roads shaded by bald trees near houses with large yards and broken fences,  stands a small church built by  villagers in Uraveli four years ago. In a village known for lack of employment, where people struggle to get by on a daily basis, building a church was like a miracle. Yet the people here believed their village was missing something crucial to their well-being.

Gulo Vakhtangishvili, a 63-year-old Mathematics teacher was the catalyst behind the construction of the church. A force to be reckoned with, Gulo encouraged everyone to participate and contribute whatever they could. “Finally we made it, it is the place where we can go and pray. For more than 400 years there was no church in the village, the faith of people was very weak- now every week the priest is conducting the service in the church and it is full of people,” Gulo says.

Seeing the community’s initiative, World Vision offered to support the people with youth Bible curriculum materials to start a Sunday school program for children. Gulo eagerly put her hand up to assist the priest.

"I come to these classes to be closer to God"

Father Nikolos, who serves 18 churches in the region, initially began teaching children in the Sunday school.  But already stretched to the limit across a large number of parishioners, he gave his blessing for Gulo to take over the teaching. 

Gulo was thrilled for the opportunity. “My mother became a nun when I was a child. I was raised in a very religious family. I was reading the Bible even during the Soviet period - I was hiding it. Now I am so happy that I have the chance to talk to a new generation about Christianity,” she says.

Twice a week Gulo teaches religion classes to more than 70 children aged from 8 to 16. Her classes are always well attended.  “We cannot ask teachers to volunteer- it must be their own wish. Unfortunately this village is the exception but in other schools we could not run the classes because we didn’t have a teacher.” explains Father Nikolos.

World Vision has opened 11 Sunday schools across Georgia since 2006. Uraveli School is the only operating Sunday school in Samtskhe-Javakheti region. It offers children the chance to learn about Orthodoxy, the faith of more than 80 percent of the Georgian population, through Youth Bible Curriculum (YBC) books. Youth Bible Curriculum, or YBC, is a series of easy-to-read and interactive Bible study materials for children as young as six through to youth aged 17 that encourage a love of learning about the Bible and the Christian faith with an emphasis on history, culture and family. YBC is helping to bring children back into the fold of their church tradition and nourishing the desire to know more about God and walk in Jesus’ footsteps.

Today, dozens of children are attending Sunday school classes not because they have to attend, but because they want to learn more about the Christian faith.

"I come to these classes to be closer to God," shares 13-year-old Natia who is one of 70 children that attends the classes at Uraveli Sunday school.

Natia shares that before attending Sunday school classes she didn’t know why she was wearing an image of the cross.  Nobody had talked to her about Christianity and during Sunday school she learnt about Jesus Christ and the Bible for the first time. She never wants to miss a Sunday school lesson.  

"Children who are attending Sunday school have changed a lot: they are more obedient, they are going to church, and they are friendlier with one another..." 

At home she shares what she has learnt with her six- year-old brother and tells him the stories from the Bible. The YBC books, she says, are easy to understand. “I could not imagine that she would become so interested in religion. I see that she has changed in a very positive way and I am very grateful for it.  She is very enthusiastic and even teaches us,” says Natia’s mother.

“Without these books it would be very difficult for me to deliver the information that I have about Christianity and the holy Bible to children. YBC books help me to have more interactive lessons and to involve all the students.  These books share information in a very simple and understandable way,” adds Gulo.

She adds, “Children who are attending Sunday school have changed a lot: they are more obedient, they are going to church, and they are friendlier with one another. Parents also notice it and I am very happy to be the part of this transformation together with World Vision.”

World Vision Georgia has trained more than 335 teachers, mostly clergy in YBC methodology, to date. Close partnership with churches has enabled the distribution of more than 24,631 YBC books across Georgia. Sunday school materials are distributed through churches by both church members and World Vision staff.

Some 1,742 sponsored children, 92 out of which live in Uraveli village, are also supported by World Vision donors in Canada in various ways.  Twenty schools and seven kindergartens have received material-technical support and capacity building and parents and caregivers have participated in training where they learn about protecting their children from preventable diseases.  World Vision has also helped farmers to establish irrigation systems to improve their harvest and family income.  Much more needs to be done in this region with difficult economic and social conditions where many families are unable to meet the basic needs of children.

Here in Uraveli, where there are no playgrounds and no recreational facilities, Sunday school is a very special place for children.  Most of the Sunday school students now make up a significant portion of the congregation of the church built by their families.

Supporting Sunday Schools and providing materials like YBC is one way that World Vision is helping children to experience the love of God and their neighbours in Georgia and in other parts of Eastern Europe.