May 27, 2022
News
Within the framework of the Czech Development Agency-funded project „Way to Home: Development of Adult Alternative Social Services in Georgia“, Caritas Czech Republic handed over two family-type homes for persons with disabilities to the State Care Agency. The procurement, rehabilitation and handover of these houses is a part of Caritas Czech Republic’s broader contribution to the deinstitutionalization of large boarding institutions in Georgia. The initiative is financially supported by the Czech Development Agency.
Petr Mikyska, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Georgia and Jana Zelingerova, Head of Development Cooperation of the Embassy participated in the event. Afterward, Caritas Czech Republic had a chance to interview them and find out more about their impressions.
Mr. Ambassador, within the deinstitutionalization project, today Caritas Czech Republic handed over family-style homes to the beneficiaries currently living in large boarding houses and you had a chance to see the results of our work on the spot. What is your impression? How do you think this intervention will change the lives of the project beneficiaries?
It is a quite happy day for me because not only now I can see the results of this project, but we visited the boarding houses in autumn and saw the construction works on the spot as well. Now the houses are ready to be handed over to the beneficiaries!
Institutionalization that means caring for persons with disabilities in large boarding houses was a quite widespread practice in the past. Only with the time passing, the experience showed that it is not the best way for the personal development of people and for ensuring the best living conditions for them. Hence, worldwide it was assumed that we should go the other way. It is the directive of the OECD efforts, of Council of Europe recommendations, it is the part of the commitments of the governments and I am happy that we are fulfilling these commitments as well.
Now we are witnessing the handover of two family-type homes to the Government of Georgia. I am very impressed with how fast the construction went and the quality of the results. So, congratulations to Caritas Czech Republic’s team for this good work and I am sure I will be happy to see the beneficiaries living integrated into the society.
With Czech Republic's support, Caritas Czech Republic has been working on the disability issue for years. Why is this direction one of the main priorities for your country to support in Georgia?
First, it is a part of the commitments as I have already mentioned and second, social protection and healthcare is one of our main priorities for Czech Development Cooperation in Georgia. The most vulnerable or marginalized groups are our target, our group of interest because we know how difficult it is for the Georgian state to take care of them. Thus, this is the reason why we are focused on this and Caritas Czech Republic is a really great partner!
Our organization is very grateful for the opportunity to carry out projects within the Official Development Assistance of the Czech Republic and in close partnership with Czech Development Agency in various sectors, including social protection and healthcare as well as agriculture and environment protection. We believe that with our contribution we help where it's needed as well as support Georgia on a systemic level. My question is – does Caritas Czech Republic's country office in Georgia live up to the expectations of the Czech Republic?
Caritas Czech Republic is not only living up to our expectations, but it is exceeding them. We know that it is huge work, the efforts are wide, and the performance is perfect. If we are going from primary healthcare, humanitarian assistance, and oncological prevention to social care or agriculture – Caritas Czech Republic is everywhere. We are very happy that we can cooperate, and we can have Caritas Czech Republic in Georgia as one of the two main partners. We are very proud of the work of your organization and we hope that we will continue partnership because we are sure of the quality of the management and the performance. I do not know how that happened, but Caritas Czech Republic has fantastic human recourses. So, everybody working with, for or on behalf of Caritas Czech Republic is the best partner for us and we thank both the organization and the team for this cooperation!
Ms, Zelingerova, Georgia and the Czech Republic have been making friendship for decades and this especially concerned the support for the implementation of the development activities in our country. How do you see the ongoing partnership and the way for deepening it between the two countries? What are your expectations for the future?
I am very happy that Czech Development Assistance has been growing for years since 2008 when we started working in Georgia and it has also changed its character from humanitarian assistance to supporting Georgia on the democratic path toward the EU institutions. So, one of the priorities of our program is social inclusion including health and this project is a good example of our support. Czech Republic has been offering an advanced portfolio of tools and instruments of assistance starting from big bilateral projects implemented by the Czech Development Agency and small-scale grants for the local beneficiaries. Also, quite a big number of Government scholarships for university students in Georgia to study in the Czech Republic.
We have been active in supporting human rights and democracy and independence of journalism through the transitional program, which is also very successful, I would say. And the amount within this assistance is reaching 3.5 million Euros per year. Next year we are closing our seven-year bilateral program and we are preparing a new program for seven years again that will be adapted to the needs of Georgia to best suit your requirements and where we can offer our best added-value of Czech Republic. And the added value of Czech Republic is, I would say, its quite recent experience – its transition to the European Union that is still in the fresh memory, and we are so happy to share with you!
This material was prepared in the scope of the project financed within the Official Development Assistance of the Czech Republic and implemented through the partnership between Czech Development Agency and Caritas Czech Republic.
