Working With Refugees

Nino Chubabria reports that every day she and the Mkurnali Association kids are going to a different refugee camp to work all day. The conditions at the moment are very bad: people are sleeping on bare dirty floors in schools and other government buildings. Most of these buildings have no water or sanitation facilities, and no place to cook. As of yet the government is not distrubuting aid, but aid is trickling in from international organizations like the Red Cross.

Nino and the kids have brought food to refugees, but the most critical item needed at the moment is baby formula. Many young refugee mothers have lost their ability to lactate due to stress and trauma. Nino is helping to supply baby food and diapers to refugee camps with the funds Georgian Youth Rescue raises.

In addition to bringing food, the kids spend all day every day cleaning and setting up spaces for the refugees. Here the Mkurnali kids have really stood out, with their experience on the streets, they have been able to help refugees create makeshift shelters and beds out of whatever spare materials can be found around the sites. We are exceptionally proud of our clever kids and the critical humanitarian relief work they are doing.

Mkurnali Kids Volunteer to Help War Refugees

One of the most heartening aspects of the Mkurnali Association, our partner organization, has always been the commitment the organization's youth make to doing social work. Kids who grow up with the organization tend to stay close the cause of helping other street kids. Several have stayed on to work as teachers in vocational training workshops, manage the office, or do social work for other organizations.

Starting today, several the Mkurnali Association kids will be serving as volunteers, helping to transform various sites into war refugee camps. Great job you guys!

Fundraising Event!

Georgian Youth Rescue will be hosting a cultural event/fundraiser this Sunday August 17 from 5-7 pm at the University of Colorado at Boulder Wolf Law Building, Room 204. Come learn about Georgian and Caucasian culture from Georgians, Ossetians, and Americans who have worked and traveled the region.

We will be raising money for the Georgian Youth Rescue Humanitarian Relief Fund. All funds will be directly transferred to the Mkurnali ("Healer") Association in Tbilisi to serve the needs of street youth during this period of conflict/crisis.

For DIRECTIONS click HERE.

For questions, contact Tawnya 303-319-2924.

Hope to see you there!

Waiting...

As the conflict drags on, Nino and the children remain in Tbilisi. Without electricity during the hot August weather, much of the food supply has spoiled. Because the Mkurnali Association is located near the president's house, the government has also cut gas to the neighborhood, which makes it difficult for the kids to cook. The mobile phone network appears to have been down much of the last few days, but thankfully the internet has been working, which has allowed me to contact Nino frequently in Tbilisi. Many Georgians have been calling family and friends outside the country to get news, which is not well covered on the local news stations, or relying on open internet forums to get information.

It appears that Tbilisi is out of harm's way for now, and the Georgian government has gone out of its way to reassure its residents that they do not need to evacuate. There is a rising anxiety in Georgia about a food and petrol shortage, however. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the conflict does not spread to Tbilisi!

Nagila Evacuates Tbilisi

One of our board members, Nagila Guimareas, evacuated Tbilisi two days ago. In her words:

"Leaving Georgia and living in Georgia were the most intense experiences in my life. I was already scheduled to move out of Georgia on August 10th. Unfortunately, the war started 3 days before my departure. Unable to leave by plane I hired a taxi to take me to Yerevan. I followed the convoy of Americans led by the American Embassy. It was a wonderful help by the embassy, I couldn’t imagine doing it by myself.

It is very difficult to describe in words all the emotions one goes through being in a war. The constant panic of being attacked, injured or killed is always present. But, I knew that I would have help to get out and had a whole different life outside Georgia waiting for me. On the other hand, the Georgians were facing a much darker reality. The socio-economic situation was already very hard with 50% of the population living below the level of poverty. Georgia was just starting to take baby steps to get ahead. Then…war again. The past 3 days of war that I spent with my Georgian friends and the street kids were of pure sorrow and fear. They can’t take it anymore. Everybody is traumatized and terrorized by having to go though a war again. There is a general sense of hopeless and despair. "

One of our board members and dear friends, Thea Johkhadze, remains in Tbilisi with her family. For her, Nino Chubabria, the kids, and all of our friends in Georgia, we anxiously await the end to the conflict.

Zhana Gives Birth to Girl!

Zhana, a Georgian/Ossetian girl who is currently living at the Mkurnali Association in Avlibari, just gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Elene.

Zhana is a refugee from a previous conflict in South Ossetia, and like many refugees has no identity papers. Without papers, she was denied government assistance to pay for the birth of her baby. Luckily a priest in the Georgian Orthodox church was able to find a sponsor for her medical bills. The day the conflict broke out between Georgia and South Ossetia, Zhana went into labor and had her baby by cesarian section in a hospital.

Crisis in Georgia

Dear Friends,

The recent outbreak of war between The Republic of Georgia and Russia has taken the world by surprise. Georgia had already suffered three, and now four, wars since independence. With over 50% of the population already living in dire poverty, many families don't have spare resources to weather the additional hardship the current war has brought.

Georgian Youth Rescue is mobilizing quickly to respond to the humanitarian crisis the conflict has created for the already under-served street youth population in Georgia. We anticipate a large increase in the number of children needing food, clothing, shelter and medical care in the coming months due to thousands of people being displaced and experiencing severe economic distress.

At the moment there is a panic in Georgia about potential food shortages. Existing orphanages and shelters in Georgia are currently at risk to disruptions in their government funding sources. In the event that police services are disrupted, children on the streets will be more vulnerable to harassment and crime then ever. We must move quickly to ensure Georgia's children's humanitarian needs are met.

Georgian Youth Rescue is an all-volunteer organization that directly transfers donations to our partner organization in Tbilisi, The Mkurnali ("Healer") Association.

The Mkurnali Association has been providing critical services to Georgian youth for 8 years, in the form of humanitarian aid, legal assistance, and vocational training. Lead by Georgian director Nino Chubabria, Mkurnali has earned most of its own funding with a computer repair social venture operation. Nino anticipates the business will come to a halt for some months, creating a cash flow crisis for her organization.

Please consider donating to our Humanitarian Crisis fund today. And check back for regular news about The Mkurnali Association kids in Tbilisi.

Sincerely,
Tawnya Ferbiak
Founding Board Member