The Country Georgia is a country of about 4.8 million people, all living in an east-west valley between the Greater Caucasus Mountains on the north and the Lesser Caucasus Mountains on the south. It is about the size of South Carolina, bounded by the Black Sea on the west, Russia on the North, Turkey and Armenia on the south, and Azerbaijan on the east. Georgia has its own language, Khartouli, and its written alphabet is one of only 18 in the world. It has had a long history of being overrun and conquered by peoples from the south, east and north, and has emerged from each having absorbed the best from their conquerors, but not having lost their national identity. About 80% of the people are Georgian Orthodox Christians, a religion that predates both the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, and which survived the Soviet period by going underground.

The Wars- 1992, 1993 & 2008 Although Georgia declared independence in 1991, in 1992 and 1993, the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions of Georgia, supported by Russia, broke away from Georgia in bloody fighting. More than 20,000 were killed, and 300,000 Georgians were ethnically cleansed from Abkhazia and relocated to internal displaced persons (IDP) camps. Between 1993 and 1995, a bloody civil war raged between a Georgian nationalist group and the then current government, which was allied to Russia. Government forces won, and ten years of increasing instability followed. After the 2003 elections were determined to have been rigged in favor of the pro-Russian government, the opposition forced the resignation of president–elect Shevardnadze in the bloodless “Rose Revolution.” In a new election the current president Mikheil Saakasvili won overwhelmingly, and since that time has largely unified the country. Georgia has moved away from Russia, and is currently petitioning for admission to the European Union. Georgia has become a firm ally of the United States, and the US military is training and equipping Georgian forces. Georgia still faces unresolved conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where renewed fighting and an invasion by Russian troops in the summer of 2008 destroyed most military installations, much of the infrastructure and thousands of homes in the parts of Georgia that border the disputed areas. The Gori area, between Tbilisi and Kutaisi, was especially hard hit.

The Kids One of the main impacts of the fighting, both in the 1990s and in 2008, has been a huge increase in the number of orphans in the country, both children whose parents had died in the fighting and children who are considered "social orphans," frequently victims of the ethnic cleansing in the breakaway regions, whose parent or parents cannot support them. State-supported orphanages have been the norm, and though the level of care is generally good, the resources available to these institutions are very limited. Physical and sanitation facilities are horrible by western standards; buildings built during the Soviet period are crumbling for lack of maintenance. Medical care is available, as the Soviet system produced many doctors, but medicines, medical facilities and medical equipment are in short supply. Food supplies are adequate, but simple and generally lacking in vegetables. While an eduction is provided in the local school systems, the orphans are generally without work and social interaction skills, and few get the "college prep" track to enable them to go on to university.  These children are basically  warehoused until they reach the age of 16, at which time they are released into a world where they are too young to work, and are without any support system. They are required to leave the orphanage, and are expected to find a place in Georgian society, but with unemployment running at around 30%, there is little chance of them finding a job without further training or education. The situation is particularly dire for young women, who may find predators waiting to sell them into prostitution as soon as they are away from the protection of orphanage staff.

The American Georgia Responds These conditions prompted several churches to undertake humanitarian missions to support certain orphanages. In the Atlanta area, Peachtree Road First Methodist and Marietta First Methodist churches have sponsored trips to Kutaisi, Zestafoni and Samtredia, in the center of the country. The Etseri orphanage, the Kitski School, Chiatora School for special needs children, the Rioni School for the Deaf, and the Samtredia Special School for Boys have all been assisted by these two organizations. These were humanitarian missions, as opposed to missions to evangelize, because in the days after independence the Georgian government, in an understandable effort to promote regeneration of their Georgian Orthodox faith, prohibited outside religious organizations from sending religious missionaries, although humanitarian efforts were welcome. Georgia to Georgia, Inc., grew out of the realization by some members of the Marietta missions that They could do something about these conditions. Go here to find out more, and here for a detailed history of where we've been!

The Future As of the Fall of 2007, there was a movement in Georgia to reduce the number of orphanages, and to move them from the control of the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health. It remains to be seen what the impact will be at the local level, although in the year since, a number of orphanages were closed, and many "social orphans" were sent to live with sometimes distant relatives, regardless of the ability of that family to support them. As an attitudinal carry-over from the paternalistic Soviet system, the local District Administrators (roughly equivalent to County Commissioners in the US) have maintained awareness of the locations and conditions of these children. We are maintaining contact with these officials as well as expanding to other orphanages that are still open. The 2008 Russian invasion has, of course, increased the need for humanitarian relief dramatically. Thousands of people, children and adults, have lost everything as they were driven from the disputed regions, or as Russian tanks and bombs destroyed their homes. For the immediate future, Georgia to Georgia, Inc. is sending funds raised by the Atlanta-Tbilisi Sister City Committee for purchase of blankets and other necessities, in addition to providing scholarships for orphans.