Care for 20 homeless people in Tbilisi, Georgia

Life at Mkurnali continues as usual, and there have been no major changes. The children at our shelter completed the school year successfully. However, learning at Mkurnali has not stopped. We want to make the most of the summer holidays by helping the children strengthen their knowledge and improve their academic skills before the new school year begins. For this reason, together with our organisation’s teacher, I continue to work with them throughout the summer, providing additional lessons to help them make further progress.

To help the children enjoy their summer holidays, we regularly take them to a friend’s horse-riding club. We also organise outings outside the city, including visits to Lisi Lake, where they can spend time outdoors and enjoy nature. In addition, we have installed a small swimming pool in the shelter’s yard. Unfortunately, we do not have the financial resources to take them on holiday to a seaside resort or to the countryside, so we do our best to provide them with enjoyable and memorable summer activities close to home.

As for the adults, they continue working as before. With the support of a friend of our organisation, the young men had opened a small workshop and shop specialising in automotive paint mixing. The business operated successfully for a short period, but we were later forced to leave the premises because of new regulations prohibiting the processing of products that release toxic substances into the air within residential areas.

We have now moved all the equipment and materials to our own garage. Fortunately, it is located away from residential buildings, and the distance from nearby homes allows us to continue this type of work in compliance with the regulations. We are currently renovating the garage so that the workshop can resume its activities there. We hope to complete the renovation and restart operations in the near future.

Despite the many challenges we continue to face, we have maintained our monthly support for the families we assist. We remain committed to standing by them and providing regular help, as this support continues to be essential for their well-being.

PS Just for fun

As you know, a private house always needs a bit of upkeep. We regularly take care of small repairs ourselves and do whatever we can with our own hands.  Everyone gets involved, and even our youngest beneficiary wanted to contribute. With great enthusiasm, they joined in too and proudly did their part.

You might not want to read this if you're eating your dinner, but we will spare you most of the gory details.

Late in January a sewage pipe serving not only our shelter but three other houses failed.  Unfortunately, to say the least, when this happened the waste water gushed out into our yard.  What happened next was quite a saga.  It took two companies and one failed fix to discover that the problem was actually not on our property.  It took three weeks more to finally fix the issue.  First we had to persuade the company responsible to come out, then it took them several teams to locate the problem.  Finally, they only hired an excavator for two hours, so our volunteers worked through the night with shovels to dig up the street so a new pipe could be installed.  After all this, we still had to complete work within our yard to reconnect us to the main drains.

This drama has taken its toll.  While we were appealing to the authorities for help, one of the children living at our shelter had to be hospitalised because of an infection.  The leak also caused damage to our property.  A kitchen wall partially collapsed and still needs reinforcement.  The steps to our property also washed away and urgently need to be fixed.  Unfortunately, we are responsible for the damage to our property, even though it wasn't our fault.  It will cost £4,100 to make the essential repairs.  Can  you help?

We are just 5 days away from GlobalGiving's Little by Little Campaign, when donations up to $50 (£37) will be matched at 50% until funds run out.  This would be a great time to respond to our appeal and make your donation go further.  A £20 donation from the UK made with Gift Aid could be worth £35 to us!  We are very grateful for any contribution.  Little by Little runs from 2pm (UK time) on Tuesday 17th to 2am on Saturday 21st March.  However matching funds are likely to run out, so it's great if you can donate on 17th.

After that you may wish to hear some more positive news:

Rachel, the head British volunteer, continues her classes at Mkurnali twice a week, tutoring children in English, and everyone has truly fallen in love with her. A visiting boy, the son of a former tenant, also comes to the classes. Christina, our gymnastics champion, studies whenever she can. She recently injured her leg in a competition but still managed to take first place at the International Mango Competition in Portugal.

We are also reaching out to local donors. One local donor recently gave equipment and paint for car repairs, helping young people continue their work as car mechanics and gain skills to become self-employed.