Patriarch welcomes Solidarity Fund
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, June 27
The Patriarch of Georgia, Ilia II, has publicly praised the Government-initiated Solidarity Fund.
The Patriarch stated that since 2014 the Fund has financed care for 400 children and 22 adults suffering from cancer.
“We see a lot of troubles around us but at the same time we witness very good deeds, especially for children suffering from oncologic diseases,” Ilia II has declared at Holy Trinity Cathedral.
Ilia II thanked the Solidarity Fund, and praised its activities. ‘I would like to thank those people who established the foundation, working and caring for our children,” the Patriarch stated.
The Solidarity Fund was created in 2014 through the initiative of former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to encouraged the public sector to donate funds that would be distributed to cover the cost of treatment for ill children and other priority social needs.
As word spread about the creation and purpose of the Solidarity Fund, the number of donors increased to 27 private companies and more than 60,000 public sector employees, who had donated more than 7,195,089 GEL so far.
In the last year, private companies and the public donated funds worth more than seven million GEL to fund vital cancer treatment for children and adults under the age of 22.
Meanwhile, the Government of Georgia has announced that they would fund the construction of a new children's rehabilitation house for young people with tumours.
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili announced this year that the Government would begin building the children’s rehabilitation house.
The new facility would cater for children with 'solid tumours'.
The Solidarity Fund is continuing its effort to raise public awareness and seek donations so that no child with cancer in Georgia dies because of lack of funds for life-saving medicine, the Government of Georgia stated.
