Letter from the Country Director
Published: Dec 31, 2020 Reading time: 2 minutes
As 2020 draws to a close, the People in Need Georgia team are reflecting on the challenges and achievements of this unusual year. COVID-19 continues to be felt across the country, with thousands of families directly affected. We all have a responsibility to follow the public health recommendations, while recognising the serious impacts these measures have on so many households’ finances, education and access to support services.
I am proud that PIN has adapted its ongoing projects so successfully to the changing needs of the communities we work with, providing support to rural businesses to increase their resilience to shocks and stresses such as the pandemic. We have also launched a new five country project with the support of the European Union, the COVID-19 Solidarity Programme, which has enabled us to work in more regions of Georgia meeting emerging needs in digital education, legal assistance, support to women’s rights, and the needs of people with disabilities in cooperation with experienced local CSOs.
We have also launched two new projects exploring how the problems of unsafe credit, indebtedness and labour rights exploitation hold back development in Georgia, and where PIN can support meaningful change. At the same time, we have finalised our ambitious new Georgia Country Strategy 2021-2025 – you can read more in the next newsletter!
I would like to thank all of my colleagues for the great work they have done under such difficult conditions, and our donors and partners who make this possible, in particular, the Czech Development Agency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union, USAID, SlovakAid, and UNDP.
DOWNLOAD HERE: PEOPLE IN NEED (PIN) GEORGIA NEWSLETTER, DECEMBER 2020
I wish a joyful new year and a peaceful 2021 to all our readers and friends. Happy holidays!
Dion Battersby
Country Director, People in Need Georgia