Mondo´s volunteers in Georgia

I arrived in Georgia the night of the 27 July and felt like I was sneaking in. From the window of the plane, I couldn’t see anything and wondered how many things I would see the next day. From the first moment I came down, I could feel the warm, humid Georgian air. For me, it was a good auspice. I arrived the next day in Zugdidi via marshurkhta and Olga, my coordinator, was waiting for me at the bus stop. After showing me the house and giving me all the explanations, she leaves me to let me rest and unpack my things. I couldn't wait to go to the office the next day and figure out what I could do. Already from the first days, I was lucky enough to visit the shelter that houses women and children who have suffered domestic violence. I say I am lucky because the visits are not scheduled for us volunteers to respect the privacy of the beneficiaries. Also in the first period, we were able to visit the immigrant garden , which was created by Lia, a Georgian poet. The intent is to preserv...

The place I call home these days is Zugdidi : a fairly small city and capital of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Georgia’s western region. We are just a bunch of kilometres away from the breakaway region of Abkhazia. (I say ‘we’ as I share work and flat with Ella, from France.)   I am here to assist Association “Merkuri” in financial capacity building. Merkuri has been active in the community for almost two decades now. Their work is vast, varied and very much needed. They also run the only shelter for women survivors of domestic violence (and their children) in the Samegrelo region.    This first month spent here feels like a day and a year at the same time, it is paradoxical but that is how it feels. Everything, since I stepped into Georgia, has been pretty intense: new people, language (in sound and writing), places, ways of living and thinking. So far, at work, I have completed a database to track and monitor funding opportunities for Merkuri. And I have started working on a...