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U.S. Ambassador and Minister of Health, Labor, and Social Affairs Open Specialized Family-Type Service for Children with Disabilities in Kutaisi and Visit the Home of a Foster Family

Language: English | Georgian
 USAID Mission Director Visit  Fruit and Herb Processing Plant
Monday, April 3, 2017 - 8:15am

Farkoni, owned by Mamuka Alpaidze, is a collector and processor of wild berries, bay leaves, and medical herbs.  With USAID support, through its Restoring Efficiency to Agricultural Production (REAP) activity, Farkoni introduced seasonings, dried fruit and phyto tea processing as well as a packaging line that will provide a wide variety of high quality products for sale to local and international markets.  USAID/REAP is also providing assistance with ISO 22000 certification, which will improve Farkoni’s operational efficiency and enable the firm to export their products to the EU.  In January 2017, Farkoni sent its first trial shipment of 80,000 packages of seasonings to the US, which will be sold in  supermarkets in California.

By introducing these new products and utilizing modern technologies for processing, Farkoni is increasing its collection and sale of dried and processed herbs, fruits, and berries from local farmers.  To date, Farkoni has created 46 new rural jobs and collected raw materials from more than 400 farmers; providing an income of more than 1.5 million GEL.

Reading class in Kutaisi school
USAID Mission Director Visit Kutaisi Public School # 32
Monday, April 3, 2017 - 8:00am

Kutaisi, March 30, 2017, - USAID Mission Director Douglas Ball visited Kutaisi Public School # 32 to see an innovative class in reading.  The class use new teaching methods introduced by USAID’s Georgia Primary Education (G-PriEd) project, implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science (MES).

U.S. Ambassador and USAID Mission Director Visit Kutaisi Youth Center
Monday, April 3, 2017 - 7:45am

Kutaisi, March 29, 2017, - U.S. Ambassador Ian Kelly and USAID Mission Director Douglas Ball visited Kutaisi Youth Center and met with young leaders. The Kutaisi Youth Center has been established with the support of USAID’s 5-year Promoting Integration, Tolerance, and Awareness (PITA) activity.  PITA aims to increase:
 

Civil Society and U.S. Officials Draw Attention to Adverse Consequences of Early Marriage
Monday, April 3, 2017 - 7:45am

Kutaisi, March 29, 2017, - U.S. Ambassador Ian Kelly and USAID Mission Director Douglas Ball, along with civil society organizations, participated in a roundtable discussion on the adverse consequences of early marriage. The roundtable was organized by the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) as part of USAID’s “Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia (PROLoG)” activity. 

Go Green with Goodwill
Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - 7:45am

Chargé D’Affaires Nicholas Berliner, USAID Acting Deputy Mission Director Mark Mitchell, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection Gigla Agulashvili, Executive Director of Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) Nana Janashia, and Goodwill CEO Giorgi Khabashvili participated in the U.S. Government’s Waste Management Technologies in Regions (WMTR) program’s opening of the first public recycling center in Georgia.

Youth Branches of Political Parties Agree on Code of Conduct and Cooperation
Tuesday, August 2, 2016 - 7:00am

On Wednesday, August 3 at 4:00pm representatives of Georgian political parties’ youth branches will hold a briefing and signing of the multi-party agreement on Code of Conduct. The event will  take place at Tbilisi Rooms  Hotel.

USAID’s Addiction Research Development in Georgia (ARDG) Project’s Close-out
Tuesday, July 26, 2016 - 1:30am

July 28, Tbilisi, Expo Georgia, Pavilion 3, 10:00 a.m. – U.S. Ambassador Ian Kelly, together with the Czech Republic Ambassador Tomáš Pernický and the Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs David Sergeenko, will mark the culmination of USAID’s ARDG project with a conference on drug addiction in Georgia

Giorgi Shavadze Shows Mission Director Ball His Greenhouses along the ABL
USAID Launches the Zrda Activity to Promote Economic Development in Communities along the Administrative Boundary Lines with Georgia's Occupied Territories
Tuesday, July 12, 2016 - 12:00pm

USAID Mission Director Douglas Ball joined Minister of Agriculture Otar Danelia and Acting Governor of Shida Kartli Ioseb Okromelidze to visit communities along the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with Georgia's occupied territory of South Ossetia.

Residents of the Tbilisi Elders' Boarding House celebrate their new solar hot water heater
Warm Elderly – USAID Supports Renewable Energy Solutions at Tbilisi Elders’ Boarding House
Friday, June 24, 2016 - 1:45am

Tbilisi, Monday, June 27, 2016, 12:00pm—USAID/Georgia Acting Deputy Mission Director Michael Rossmas attended an event marking the achievements of the USAID-supported Clean Energy Program.

Ambassador Kelly Gives Opening Remarks at National Disability Rights Day Forum
Recognition of National Disability Rights Day
Tuesday, June 14, 2016 - 2:00am

The Coalition for Independent Living (CIL), with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will mark National Disability Rights Day with a forum on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The forum will raise public awareness about disability rights issues in Georgia and around the world.

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Kutaisi, March 29, 2017, - U.S. Ambassador Ian Kelly, Minister of Health, Labor, and Social Affairs, David Sergeenko, and USAID Mission Director Douglas Ball, travelled to Kutaisi to open the Kutaisi Specialized Family-Type Service for Children with Severe Disabilities.  

Kutaisi’s Specialized Family-Type Service for Children with Severe Disabilities is the first unit in Georgia with transitional community-based care for children with severe disabilities.  In this Service, children transferred from a large orphanage now receive 24-hour nursing care, physical rehabilitation, and community integration services. Georgia’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Affairs now has a challenging task ahead to establish at least four more similar Family-Type Services, to transfer orphans with disabilities living in large-scale orphanages, to a family-type environment; and eventually to families and foster families.    

The Specialized Family-Type Service has been established with the support of USAID’s $1 million, 5-year Protection of Children with Disabilities project, implemented by UNICEF.  The goal of the project is to ensure that infants and young children grow up in an environment conducive to child development.  A local NGO, Breath Foundation, donated the building for the Family-Type Service in Kutaisi and will manage it with the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Affairs’ (MoLSHA) funding.  USAID equipped the building; developed standards of care; trained professionals, nurses, and social workers; and linked the Family-Type Service with health care clinics and the Social Service Agency in Kutaisi. 

U.S. Ambassador Ian Kelly and USAID Mission Director Douglas Ball also visited a foster family in Kutaisi that takes care of three children with disabilities.  Foster care is essential in order to phase-out state orphanages and institutional care in Georgia. USAID’s current activity with UNICEF, the Protection of Children with Disabilities project, continues expanding and strengthening the network of foster families.

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USAID Acting Assistant Administrator Margot Ellis Travels to Azerbaijan and Georgia
 USAID Mission Director Visit  Fruit and Herb Processing Plant
USAID Mission Director Visit Kutaisi Public School # 32
Civil Society and U.S. Officials Draw Attention to Adverse Consequences of Early Marriage
U.S. Ambassador and USAID Mission Director Visit Kutaisi Youth Center
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