Hungary Gives Psycho-Social Aid to Tbilisi Flood Victims through Georgian Red Cross
On 17 March at the Radisson BLU Tbilisi Hotel, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, on behalf of the Government of Hungary, signed an Agreement on Humanitarian Aid for the victims of the Tbilisi flood of June, 2015. Natia Loladze, President of the Georgia Red Cross Society, signed for the Georgian side.
The Hungarian government has offered EUR 32,000 to support the families which fell victim to a flood which tore through houses, a dog shelter and the city zoo. It is a long term project, providing support to children through the Children's Resilience Program (CRP), developed by the IFRC Reference Center for Psycho-Social Support of Children.
“Since the very first hours of emergency following the flood on June 13, 2015, the Georgia Red Cross Society has been giving responsive help, including humanitarian and first aid to the victims,” Loladze told GEORGIA TODAY. “One of the main components is psycho-social support. From the very start, we rendered psycho-social aid to children, opening a center where everyone was welcome, as well as a hotline. Our dedicated staff have been working with volunteers throughout. Several donors expressed their wish to see this project continue, including the Danish Red Cross. Later, the Hungarian Embassy also expressed readiness to help. We offered them the chance to participate via the psycho-social center. We are extremely grateful for the support.”
Minister Szijjarto took a moment to remember his first visit to Tbilisi almost a year ago, when they allocated the money to help The School of Tomorrow, totally destroyed by the flood. “Hungary knows very well what it is like to fight against natural catastrophes and what it takes to deal with the consequences. Hungary is rich in water, like Georgia, which is an advantage on the one hand, but also challenging. Our country was flooded in 2013 by a section of the Danube, which, while a major European river and very beautiful and significant, can cause very serious difficulties. That’s why we usually aim to help those countries suffering similar challenges. We’ve done the same in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Albania and, most recently, Georgia. Last time, we helped The School of Tomorrow to buy equipment to replace that lost in the flood. This time, we are signing an agreement to be able to operate the psycho-social center. Physical consequences can be handled within the construction works of a couple of months, but tackling the psychological consequences of a disaster takes a lot of time. We wish success to the volunteers of the Georgian Red Cross.”
The Minister once again confirmed that Georgia is a very strong partner for Hungary, having worked a lot on the path of the European and Euro-Atlantic integration. He ended his speech by confirming that Georgia can always count on Hungarians not only on the political but also on the social level. “Our National Red Cross societies should enhance cooperation in future,” Szijjarto concluded.
Maka Lomadze