Newsletter - December 2006
A Note from Marusya
I spent three weeks in Georgia this summer and was excited by great progress in all AFG projects I visited. I talked with project directors about their accomplishments and needs. One child said to me, “You are our closest friend,” and I reassured her that AFG will continue to care. One thing that makes AFG unique is we stick with a project as long as we’re needed.
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| (left to right: Mother Mariam, Mother Antonina and Marusya Chavchavadze at Bediani Village watching the former street children play soccer, July 2006) |
We’ve helped Dzegvi Orphanage and Bediani Village since 1995. I met with some of the older kids and was touched to have Sasha sit quietly next to me while I asked questions. I’ve known Sasha since he was 5. His mother abandoned him on the streets and left the country without him. Now 17, he’s an alpinist and wants to teach sports. Natia, who is in her early 20s, wants to be an international lawyer.
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| Sasha, age 5, front row center, with Dr. Gvasalia, Dzegvi Orphanage, 1995; | Sasha, 17, a high school senior, Dzegvi Orphanage, 2006 |
AFG’s representative in Georgia, Lena Kiladze, arranged meetings with corporations and humanitarian organizations to tell them about our work. We visited many AFG projects for children, adults, the disabled, the elderly – and a Georgian TV journalist and camera crew filmed our visits to the Mercy Center Hospice and Nursing School and the Children’s Department at the National Cancer Center. Thanks to the TV news program, people recognized me wherever we went and asked about AFG.
If you would like to help spread the word about AFG’s work, please share this newsletter with your friends and family.
Sincerely,
Marusya Chavchavadze
Executive Director
American Friends of Georgia, Inc.