Natakhtari & Coalition for Children & Youth Present New Program
A round table was held within the framework of the youth support campaign at the Gepra Competence Center on Monday.
The Natakhtari Company and the non-governmental organization (NGO) Coalition for Children and Youth presented a jointly prepared program.
The program consists of several important chapters, serving as a guidebook for young beneficiaries registered in various municipalities.
The state structures, including the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, and the Administration of the Government actively participated in the program development process.
Nikoloz Khundzakishvili, Director of Corporate Affairs of Natakhtari, said that this is a project that started a month ago with the NGO Coalition for Children and Youth. “Natakhtari will provide financial support for the project,” he said, adding that, “This is a kind of document, a guide that will allow local authorities to mobilize available resources to support youth beyond the care system”.
“This program also contains financial assistance with housing components, utility payments, and the support of young students who need preferential transportation in municipalities,” said Ketevan Kalandadze, a representative of the NGO Coalition for Children and Youth.
Representative of the Ministry of Health, Nino Odisharia, said the program is very good but needs refinement.
“We will continue to work with the Coalition for Children and Youth to make this program more flexible and better tailored to the needs of the young people who need it," she said.
Members of the Coalition Board, representatives of the Natakhtari Foundation and Association Our House – Georgia, and the Health and Infrastructure Ministries also participated in the round table. The sides focused on the importance of the involvement of the State and private sectors.
Company Natakhtari expressed its readiness to support the distribution of the program in the regions.
In early July, a memorandum was signed between Natakhtari and Coalition for Children and Young People, which aimed at supporting young people beyond the care system.
“The state care systems in the developed countries of the world (foster families and small family houses) assist children deprived of care not only until the age of 18, but even until the age of 21-24, as it is impossible for a young person of 18 to resolve housing and job problems independently, not to mention the necessity for psychological support, Coalition representatives said. “In Georgia, young beneficiaries, at the age of 18, have to leave the state care system, when they have not yet overcome the traumas inflicted by abandonment and in some cases, violence. They are not financially and independent, nor do they have the practical skills required to lead an independent life”.
The advocacy campaign provides for cooperation with the relevant agencies of the central and local self-government and the implementation of the prepared recommendations. Within the framework of the campaign, several meetings were organized with all involved sides.
By Thea Morrison