Restoring Faith
21 Nov 2008
In her late twenties, dark-haired Tamar has ther appearance of a shy and modest teenage girl. For almost ten months now, this single mother of one has been beneficiary of the family strengthening programme of SOS Children's Villages Georgia. She shared with us her life's sadness and the glimpse of hope.
"Five years ago everything around me promised a good future," starts Tamar. "After earning my Bachelor's of Science degree in mathematics and physics, I managed to get a job in a local high school as librarian with prospects of being promoted to teacher's position as soon as there's an opening.
I was happily in love, making plans to marry and start a family. Then... it all fell apart."
When Tamar's boyfriend found out she was pregnant, he fled town quickly. Disappointed Tamar tried to seek comfort and shelter in her parents' rural home. There she found closed doors. "They told me I was an embarrassment. They haven't spoken to me since," sighs Tamar.
Few months after her daughter was born, another door closed. This time called downsizing excess manpower. Tamar was left alone to raise a five-month-old baby in a damp rented basement room on the outskirts of Kutaisi.
"I haven't held a steady job ever since my child was born. Sometimes I clean in people's houses, but because I'm of fragile health I can only do light chores," explains Tamar. "One day I came to the SOS Children's Village Kutaisi looking for work."
Trying to keep children with their families
Many of the children in Georgia are brought to the care of SOS Children by their parents or relatives. So the village co-workers thought Tamar wanted to do the same. "She said that she would rather live in worst of poverties than separate from her child," remembers the Village Director, Mr Levan Baliashvili.
Mr Baliashvili offered to include Tamar in the family strengthening programme. Tamar accepted and in the following six months received 30 dollars per month financial help from the Ministry of Education and food stuff in value of 20 dollars per month from SOS Children's Villages.
"For the first time since my daughter was born I felt I could breathe easier," says Tamar. "I could stop worrying how long she'd be crying the next time she gets hungry."
Due to local regulations, upon the expiry of the six months the Ministry had to end their support. However, Mr Baliashvili sought another organisation to continue with the financial help for Tamar. "I am very grateful for this," says Tamar. "I can barely earn my 10-dollar rent, so these means are extremely important."
Tamar is aware that the job prospects in her profession are literally non-existing in Kutaisi. "I would like to learn how to sew. As seamstress I could find a job, maybe even work from home. But, there aren't any courses and even if there were I couldn't afford the fee," her eyes are sad but not hopeless.
"I never imagined that I would be living on the goodness of others," says Tamar. "It was this goodness that dragged me out of desperation and gave me strength. It restored my faith in people. The help I got from SOS Children's Villages put me back on my feet and I'm ready to start walking."
For privacy reasons, the name of the beneficiary was changed.
SOS Children has been working in Georgia since the late 1980s and has two SOS Children's Villages located at Kutaisi and at Tbilisi. During 2007 over 200 children were supported through the SOS Family Strengthening Programme in Kutaisi.
You can support children in Kutaisi by sponsoring a child
Relevant Countries: Georgia.