Renovation of Kvareli Maternity House

Counterpart International's (Counterpart) Community and Humanitarian Assistance Program (CHAP) in Georgia held the ribbon cutting and opening ceremony of Kvareli Maternity House Small Reconstruction Project funded by the US Department of State (DoS) in June 2008.

After DoS allocated $10,000 towards the project, it took Counterpart three months to implement the reconstruction. The birth-giving ward, pre-delivery room, newborns' room including the nurses' room and one patient room of the Kvareli Maternity House have been renovated under CHAP supervision. The project sparked enthusiasm and attracted additional sponsors: a local private donor financed reconstruction of two more patient rooms and bathroom. The Kvareli Administration replaced old wooden doors and windows with modern plastic ones which cost about $5,000. Local staff volunteered in various ways to assist with the reconstruction of the Maternity House. Complementing the project, Latter-day Saints Charities provided assistance to the Maternity House in the form of household equipment and furniture valued at about $10,000. Overall the value of the project reached $25,000.

Kvareli Maternity House serves the entire Kvareli District (Kakheti Region, Georgia) with population of 42,000 residents. Three major ethnic groups: Georgians-80%; Ossetians-8%; and Dagestanis-10% reside in the district that borders Dagestan, Russia. The Maternity House for 25 beds was constructed in 1984 and has never been renovated or reequipped since then. As there have been done no repairs for many years, the building inside was damaged and its equipment became worn out. The water supply system was out of order, the doors and windows needed to be replaced, and the power lines should be fixed. Because of all these problems many local residents preferred to go to the hospitals in other towns including Tbilisi, Telavi, and Gurjaani that requires additional expenses.

As of today, in Kvareli District, 40-50 babies are given birth per month while only 12 to 15 of them are born in this hospital. CHAP/Georgia identified the most critical needs of the Maternity House and on the basis of these needs drafted and submitted a Small Reconstruction Project proposal to US DoS for funding, which was completed successfully.

Boarding House for Single Elders and Group I Invalids: Complete Reconstruction

In December 2004, Counterpart submitted a project proposal for the reconstruction of the 'Georgian Boarding House for Single Elders and I Group Invalids' of Rustavi, Georgia, to the US State Department for consideration and approval.

The objective was to complete a full renovation of the boarding house in order to improve and maintain the health of the 24 elderly residents living there. This project was made possible through the partnership with and by the financial support of the US Department of State under the Small Reconstruction Projects initiative.

The Georgian Boarding House for Single Elders and I Group Invalids was constructed in 1985, originally as a children's daycare center. When the city started to decline, governmental funding to the center began to drastically decrease. Although the building's use as a daycare ceased, the center's manager independently transformed the institution into a boarding house for homeless elders using her personal funds. Without governmental funding and regular maintenance, however, the building started to deteriorate quickly.

The Boarding House was plagued with technical and physical shortcomings that were jeopardizing the lives of its residents. Although the long list of repairs took slightly over six months to complete, the amount of work done was phenomenal: the severely leaking roof was redone, six new rooms were built, bathrooms were totally renovated, water heaters and tanks were installed, indoor plumbing was rehabilitated and new doors and windows were constructed.

After 12 years of living in nearly uninhabitable conditions, residents now have all the basic amenities to which all individuals are entitled. Their once filthy and dark rooms are now clean and equipped with new furniture. The City of Rustavi is supplied with water 2-3 hours a day, but thanks to Counterpart's Small Reconstructions Project the boarding house currently has 24-hour water supply. The boarding house is now able to accommodate a greater number of residents, while at the same time offering them a much improved quality of life.

The completion of the project inspired other donors to support Counterpart in building a dental facility with donated dental chair and a professional dentist who works for the elderly patients after normal business hours free of charge. The team also added a small bakery facility intended to help the residents create their own source of income to further improve their conditions.