By Dwayne Mamo, World Vision Georgia Communications and Advocacy Manager
GEORGIA - The six-member Khavlashvili family lived in the same two-storey, white house for the last 30 years in their native village that lies in the breakaway region of South Ossetia. They have one picture left of the house as it used to be, and from the wrap-around balcony you can see the smiling faces of three girls looking down at the photographer.
This family can no longer return to that house or village.
One year ago, on August 8, 2008, as the conflict between Georgia and Russia escalated, the Khavlashvili family watched as their house burned down. Natela, the 64-year-old matriarch of the family, considers her family to be lucky they were not killed as they watched their house change color from white to brown to black as the flames spread though their rooms.
World Vision has been helping families like the Khavlashvili family since the very beginning of the conflict and continues to support and assist some 26,000 people who remain displaced through the many transitions they have had to face.
"At the beginning of the conflict World Vision provided the basic, most immediate needs to the tens of thousands of people who flooded into Tbilisi. But now, 12 months later, their needs are more complicated and we are dealing with issues of livelihood and skill development; they need help in rebuilding their lives." said Vano Grigolashvili, World Vision Georgia's Humanitarian Emergency Affairs and Livelihood Development Director.
Natela's family now lives in a government-built house, a fraction the size of the one they had. The house sits in a maze of exact concrete and wood replicas. It is no different from the 35 other settlements that combined, house 18,500 people, approximately 70% of the total displaced population.
A year after the conflict, more long-range problems are coming to the surface, especially for those who now live in the newly created villages. The reality of their situation is sinking in and many are beginning to realize that if they are able to return to their native villages, it will not be for a long time. Thus, these new villages are becoming their new homes, which come with different issues, different neighbours, and a different way of life. They no longer have a means to create their own livelihood and complain of unemployment and a lack of resources to gain new employable skills.
World Vision has begun a new project to help these people acclimatise to their new reality. In 9 settlements, including the one Natela and her family now live in, World Vision is building social community centres designed to be self-run, low maintenance spaces that need minimal resources to operate and can be sustained by the community. These spaces can then be used for whatever purpose the village desires and provides the opportunity for these people and other nearby vulnerable populations to participate in trainings, activities tailored for children and youth, and trans-generational activities for the youth and elderly to connect, among other things.
"Of course you cannot compare this place [settlement] to the collective centre [we lived in]. The conditions are better here; we have beds, furniture, a kitchen, a toilet, everything that is necessary for a family" Mziuri, Natela's daughter-in-law, said. "However, before I was more confident about the future; now I am afraid of everything. Most of all I am afraid that one day my children will ask me for food and I will not be able to give them anything."
Today, nobody works in the Khavlashvili family; their only income is the pension the grandparents receive and the food distributed by World Vision. The family explains that thanks to this support they somehow manage to live, but of course there is much more that needs to be done.
World Vision seeks to remain on the pulse of these community members, like Natela's family, and to respond to the needs they have. Over the last two months, World Vision has discovered that some communities are identifying problems with the potable water supply system; many people lack hygiene items and want a change in the food items they receive as well as the ration amounts, and they also don't feel empowered to take control of their lives, especially in relation to authorities. These are all issues that World Vision is seeking solutions for as it continues to work hand-in-hand with the communities.
After some time, Natela shows a picture her family was able to get when they illicitly returned to their village to salvage whatever may have been left from their property. After a year, the loss is still evident in her brimming eyes as the remnants of what used to be her life lie on the screen of a mobile phone held in her trembling hand.
These two pictures are now all they have to remind themselves of the life they used to have; one, a white-washed home, and the other, a brown-black empty shell of a building that held three decades of memories.
World Vision currently continues to provide food assistance to the displaced people and to those whose livelihood has been severely affected upon their return to their villages in the conflict zone. It also is providing agricultural assistance and training as a large portion of the people affected are farmers and almost completely rely on their crops and animals. And beginning in September, upon completion of the construction of the social community centres, will begin helping the communities with their more long-term needs of livelihood and community.
Further information:
From the very outset of the conflict, World Vision's Humanitarian Emergency Affairs and Livelihood Development programme carried out several projects to meet the various needs of thousands of IDPs. World Vision distributed 845 metric tons (MT) of food to 156,257 beneficiaries; 420 MT of items to 6,019 beneficiaries through the Food for Work project; 566 MT of vegetables and canned food to 46,836 beneficiaries; feed for animals in 34 villages; and non-food items including more than 10,000 mattresses, 24,000 hygiene kits, and 6,000 blankets. The programme also established 7 Child-Friendly Spaces that assisted 200 children, rehabilitated 9 schools and 1 kindergarten in conflict-affected villages, winterised 11 IDP collective centres, and de-wormed 11,900 cows.
The programme is based out of Tbilisi and Gori, and covers all districts of the Shida Kartli region and some settlements in the Mtskheta-Tianeti region. At its peak, the programme served nearly 100,000 beneficiaries and currently assists approximately 40,000 beneficiaries in varying capacities.
