Care for 20 homeless people in Tbilisi, Georgia

Our care doesn't end when our residents leave our shelter.  We often continue to help with food parcels until a former resident can find their feet in their new life.  Sometimes more significant help is needed.

Inga had moved to the Akhaltsikhe region for work. About a year ago, Inga was a passenger in a car travelling to a neighbouring city when they were hit by a trailer moving on the opposite side of the central highway.  The car overturned and fell off the side of the road.  The driver of the trailer thought that everyone in the car was dead and fled the scene.  Fortunately, Inga and the driver survived, but Inga sustained multiple injuries.

The local police found out that the trailer's driver was a representative of a Turkish company.  Without any investigation, they decided that both parties were at fault.  The site inspection was the only evidence gathered and, because of bad weather, its findings were not completely reliable.  The investigation was not objective, because the police did not want to bring a case against a Turkish citizen.  It was also discovered that the driver had left the country.

As soon as we heard Inga's story, we immediately got involved.  Any delay would have endangered her, since she needed surgery urgently.  Because both parties were deemed to be at fault, the insurance only paid out for one of the operations that Inga needed.

Unfortunately, we are not well known in this region of Georgia.  We were refused any additional investigations by the local authorities and had to apply to the General Prosecutor's Office to get a technical examination of the car and of the traces left by the accident.  The results of these investigations showed that the trailer driver was soley at fault for the accident.

We then worked with the border police too identify the driver and the company.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs helped us to track down the company.

Since the court case would last for months, we turned to several companies for help.  Fortunately, the insurance company has covered the cost of Inga's four operations and her treatment.  The Turkish company paid for three months of rehabilitation.  Inga returned from Turkey almost a year after the accident.   She continues her slow recovery.

On a more celebratory note, our young gymnastics star, Christina, has won an international competition in Azerbaizhan.  Her mother could not accompany her this time as the trip to Baku was costly, but Kristina still won despite the fact that she was alone in a new country.  The jury and other athletes stood up and applauded her after her performance.  It was four years ago that GlobalGiving donors helped Christina get on the Georgian team, despite her family being homeless and penniless.  We remain very grateful to everyone who has supported her talent.