Government-initiated Solidarity Fund sums up 2014

Almost two million GEL have been mobilised to finance expansive operations for children with cancer since the Government-initiated Solidarity Fund was established in Georgia seven month ago.

The Solidarity Fund presented a summarising report 2014 and invited supporting organisations to the ceremony on January 18.

Government Administration deputy head Nino Kobakhidze emphasized that more than 40,000 employees from 240 public institutions joined to the Solidarity Fund’s activates during the past seven months.

Georgia’s Government has launched the nation’s first charity fund that financed through voluntary donations from public sector employees to help children and adult with health problems in August 2014.

The fund signed a cooperative memorandum of understanding with 14 local private companies, too. In total, through those activities the fund raised 1,701,000 Gel ($876,804 USD), out of which 1198 000 (Gel) was approved for treatment expenses of 58 children suffering from cancer diseases.

Kobakhidze believed this kind of Fund had proven to be an effective example how the country could contribute to improving the lives of ill children and their families.

"2014 was the year of beginning the most important initiative for us and the year of our first success. This became possible with significant support of tens of thousands people. Together we already solved financial problems of people younger than 22 years suffering cancer and it is just a beginning. Thousands of other seriously ill children and families are waiting for our support,” the Fund Director Mariam Jashi said.

The Fund was created following a proposal of the Prime Minister, which aimed to allow the public and private sector to collaborate to mobilize financial resources and direct them towards priority social needs.

It was being financed through voluntary donations from public sector employees to help ease hardships of ill patients under the age of 18.
(Agenda.ge)