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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
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.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - 2:45am

 

Deputy Chief of Mission Bridget Brink joined Supreme Court Chairman Konstantine Kublashvili and Minister of Justice Tea Tulukiani, to open a first-of-its-kind conference entitled Gender in the Court: Working Toward a More Inclusive Court System.  The conference was supported by USAID through its implementer, the Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project in Georgia (JILEP). 

Friday, March 22, 2013 - 4:15am

 

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland joined First Lady Sandra Roloefs, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Health Related UN Millennium Development Goals in the European Region (Chairperson of CCM), Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs David Sergeenko, and Minister of Corrections Sozar Subari to observe World TB Day on March 22 in Tbilisi.

Ambassador Norland with Giorgi Dzneladze, President of the Coalition for Independent Living
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - 9:00am

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland joined Georgia's Deputy Minister of Health Davit Lomidze and representatives of national and international nongovernmental organizations at a presentation of assistive and adaptive mobility equipment for persons with disabilities in Georgia. 

At this event organized by the Coalition for Independent Living (CIL) and the Neurodevelopment Center (NDC), the USAID supported Wheelchair Production Network project is presenting a new, lightweight, electric wheelchair and postural support seating products.

Ambassador Norland speaks about the importance of women's political participation.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - 8:45am

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland attended a Roundtable on Political Party Funding and Women’s Participation in Political Life on Tuesday, March 12. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports several projects that promote women’s political participation in Georgia.

Monday, March 11, 2013 - 4:00am

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland attended the 2nd Roundtable on Political Party Funding and Women’s Participation in Political Life on Tuesday, March 12 in Tbilisi. The U.S. Government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports several projects that promote women’s political participation.

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland meets with conference participants
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 - 1:30am

Georgians with disabilities face significant societal, physical, and legislative barriers to equal participation in their country’s electoral and political processes. A significant inhibiting factor for Georgia’s disability community is a lack of awareness, shortcomings in the electoral framework inadequacies of electoral procedures and full and equal access at polling stations.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - 4:15am

On February 27, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland addressed legislative, societal and physical barriers that prevent the disability community in Georgia from achieving full political and electoral enfranchisement spoke at a conference in Tbilisi.

Media students ready to graduate
Thursday, February 21, 2013 - 4:30am

 

On February 21, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland hosted a graduation ceremony for the first class of the Multimedia Reporting Program, a two-semester certificate program by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) designed to improve the quality of journalism education.

Radio Tavisupleba (Radio Liberty) Journalism School is an independent media strengthening program launched with the assistance of USAID through G-MEDIA, which is a four-year, $12.9 million project implemented by IREX. 

Thursday, January 24, 2013 - 9:45am

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Georgia (MENR) will sign a Program Implementation Letter declaring their support for the implementation of the Georgian Electricity Market Model 2015 (GEMM 2015), at the Tbilisi Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel, at 3:00 pm on January 24, 2013. 

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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.