Care for 20 homeless people in Tbilisi, Georgia

Thank you to everyone who has helped Mkurnali this year.  Thanks to you, Mkurnali is able to house and feed about 21 young people and four children who would otherwise be homeless.  Through Global Giving we aim to cover as much as possible of our food bill so that we can feed our residents and other local homeless youngsters.

Today we will share our latest news and we'd also like to tell you about an opportunity to have 30% added to your donation. Global Giving is holding a final Bonus Day, the last bonus day of the year, starting at 9:00:01 EDT on Wednesday, September 16^th and will be adding a fantastic 30% to your donations made via https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/homeless-teenagers-tbilisi/. Matching will last until funds run out or until 23:59:59 EDT.We recommend you make your donation as soon as possible if you would like to see it matched.

And now back to our news, which Nino Chubabria, Mkurnali’s Director has shared with us:

“Summer has brought more news to our friendly community of Mkurnali.  Giorgi’s brother (you remember Giorgi and his famous motorcycle) Gocha came to stay in Mkurnali. He is 18 but looks like a 7-8 year old child as his health has seriously deteriorated – his case requires the special attention of doctors: with several medical tests to be done, including prescribing a special diet. Unfortunately the family who looked after him couldn’t afford to cover the medical costs, but thanks to our friend Eka, who paid for tests, it will be possible to apply for Gocha’s disability pension benefits. And even more help came too - Eka’s friends who had learned about Gocha’s problems, hopes and dreams from Eka’s Internet page, made Gocha’s wish come true and gave him a laptop – the latest version of the Apple Macbook. They preferred to give this fantastic gift anonymously and remain incognito (this is a very Christian approach, we feel). I hardly can describe Gocha’s joy and the emotions he felt!

Summer has also kept us busy with daily tasks – we now cultivate a little vegetable garden ; we have bought a few chickens and ducks and have some fresh free range eggs: we now have 13 chickens and 2 ducks and the children are taking care of them with great joy.

Some of the boys started working out in the gym and when they come back they train the little ones. Check their first lesson here:

https://goo.gl/photos/ybuwqirGHp1s1CVx5

We were lucky to raise some funds locally and managed to buy the necessary equipment for training.

If you remember, one of our girls, Nato, has got married into a good family. Her husband is a craftsman, a hardworking and reliable person. His family took Nato in very lovingly. We pay visits regularly and we are very happy we are able to help - Nato is expecting a baby and “Mkurnali” gave her a beautiful baby’s crib. Also, as is the tradition in Georgia, especially in rural areas (Nato got married in a county near Tbilisi) we gave her a dowry of various domestic items and hope to help her to buy bedroom furniture so that Nato doesn’t feel different, because Mkurnali is her family”.

Thank you so much for being with us on this journey and giving an opportunity for our young people in Tbilisi to step into adult life with confidence!