Care for 20 homeless people in Tbilisi, Georgia

We all know how important education is for building a future.  Sadly for those who are already vulnerable, accessing education is not always straightforward.  Here at Mkurnali we do our best to overcome the difficulties and make sure that as many beneficiaries as possible are either in education, vocational training or employment.

Vlad, one of our beneficiaries, had a very particular obstacle in his way.  Fortunately, our lawyer, Inga, was able to help.  The story began when Vlad signed up for vocational school and was accused of faking his high school diploma because of missing official stamps and a strange signature. His old school had merged with another, making things harder to confirm. The Ministry of Education couldn’t verify the diploma, as records were moved to the Tbilisi Central Archive. When they checked, the list of graduates was missing the former director’s signature, who had passed away. The deputy director vouched for Vlad and agreed to testify in court. Teachers and classmates backed him up with photos and other proof. In the end, the court ruled in Vlad’s favor, ordering a new diploma. With the fresh certificate, the case was dropped, and Vlad finally got to continue his studies.

Our director, Nino, has also been helping some of our younger residents with their school work.   She explains, 'At the Mkurnali shelter, three school-age kids are catching up on their studies. Christina misses a lot because of her sports schedule, Celia’s education wasn’t a priority where she lived before, and Niko is just getting started. I tutor them daily, sometimes online, and have brought in an English tutor to help out.  The hard work has paid off—grades are up, and Celia’s doing especially well after struggling before. The English teacher also runs a trial programme for adults, and if it keeps going strong, we’ll keep it running.'

As you can see, we are more than just a homeless shelter, working hard to make sure all our residents have a positive future.  Thank you for all your help and support.  We could not do it without you.