USAID-funded Project Expands to Address the Needs of Street and At-Risk Children in Rustavi

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RUSTAVI - on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 at 15:00, 4 Shartava Street (on the 1st floor of the Professional Lyceum building) Save the Children and its local partner organization in the Rebuilding Lives Project (RLP), Child & Environment, will hold the opening ceremony of the new daycare center for street and at-risk children “Sapovela”.

In May 2005 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Save the Children, and Child & Environment, and the Mayor of Rustavi to collaborate to meet the needs of street and at-risk children. As part of this initiative, a mobile team was established in Rustavi to offer a wide range of services for children in need. Now, with newly opened daycare center “Sapovnela” with a wide spectrum of services available for vulnerable children and their families Rebuilding Lives Project (RLP) will broaden its support in Rustavi to socially integrate vulnerable children and families into society. The team at the new center is working towards strengthening family ties and promoting the reunification of parents and children.

The three-year Rebuilding Lives Project (RLP), funded by the Displaced Children and Orphan’s Fund (DCOF) of USAID, aims at strengthening and expanding local capacities to promote the physical, cognitive, emotional and psychosocial well-being of street and at-risk children. The project focuses on activities that offer community and family-based care for the most vulnerable children in the cities of Tbilisi, Rustavi, Gori and Chiatura. As such, it shares common values and principles with the Child Protection and Deinstitutionalization reform process, currently being undertaken by the Government of Georgia, to promote family reunification and establish a network of community-based social services.

The opening ceremony will be attended by the First Lady of Georgia, Ms. Sandra Roelofs; Representatives of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director, representatives of the Government, business community, local and international NGOs and others. The program will include opening speeches and exhibition of children’s artwork. A short concert by the Center’s beneficiary children will also take place. The event will conclude with the showing of a film produced by the RLP children and their peers from Tbilisi Youth House.