Reconstruction of Canteen at St. Ilia Martali Gymnasium in Georgia

Situation

The Ilia Martali Gymnasium is located in the town of Kvareli, a 2.5 hour drive from the capital Tbilisi. It was established in 1961 as a regular boarding school, but was forced to close in 1994 due to a lack of funding. In 1999, Patriarchate of Georgia decided to re-open the school to appeal to the large number of vulnerable children who needed such an institution.

Now the gymnasium provides education 200 children, and housing for 50 of those students. Due to the fact that the school is a non-governmental institution it does not get direct funding from state budget as other public boarding schools do. The gymnasium is supported financially by private and international organizations.

What We Did

Thanks to US Department State funding through the Small Reconstruction Project initiative, Counterpart International was able to reconstruct the following sections of the kitchen and canteen building: entrance hall, large dining room (which can hold 200 kids), kitchen, hand-washing room and a small room for storing food. In these facilities, electric lines were replaced completely; water supply, drain and waste systems were renovated; ceramic tiles were laid in the hand-washing room and kitchen, the old wooden doors and windows were replaced with PVC ones, and the ceilings and walls were repaired and repainted.

Overall, the project implementation created better, safer hygienic and healthier living conditions for 200 especially vulnerable children. The project also has a positive impact on the social education and cultural behavior of the students.

To learn more about Counterpart’s Small Reconstruction Projects throughout the Former Soviet Union, visit our Web site.

June 9th, 2009 | Tags: Georgia, reconstruction, Small Reconstruction Project, SRP, SRP Georgia, students | Category: Impact Stories

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