Social Assistance to Vulnerable Children Increases to GEL150 on International Children’s Day
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, June 2, 2022
Countries around the world have marked the International Day for Protection of Children on June 1 since 1950. On this day, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced that his Government would raise assistance to socially vulnerable children from GEL100 to GEL150. Garibashvili said the program would apply to over 215,000 children, for which the state would allocate GEL341 million.
“Last year we doubled assistance for socially vulnerable children. Today, this assistance will increase to GEL150. We will continue and scale up our efforts to reduce child poverty and ensure their development,” Garibashvili said, wishing peace, health, and prosperity to children and their families.
The Head of the government emphasized in his remarks that ‘looking after the better future of children and creating conditions for their development and health was a precondition of Georgia’s strength and a key task’ of his team.
Minister of Education Mikheil Chkhenkeli also congratulated children on this day wishing them a happy and successful future. He also referred to the ongoing war in Ukraine and its tragic effects on the children in the country.
“As the Minister of Education and Science, I am proud of the fact that our team has made a significant contribution to providing a better learning environment for these children,” he remarked in reference to Ukrainian-language classes opened at select Tbilisi and Batumi based schools for pupils from Ukraine stranded by the conflict.
Chkhenkeli underlined that children “must have an equal opportunity to receive education in a safe and peaceful environment and live a healthy life,” noting the role of teachers and parents in the process.
On June 1st the Georgian Interior Ministry launched an information campaign against child marriage in partnership with the local office of the United Nations Population Fund.
“Do not Take Childhood Away” initiative aims to eliminate child marriage and increase awareness about the availability and reliability of the police to react to relevant cases in a timely manner. Within the program, representatives of the Ministry have handed out booklets in Georgian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani languages to communities across the country, sharing information on the goals of the campaign.
Expected to run for a month with events in Tbilisi and other regions of the country, the project is supported by the UNFPA as part of the UN program for gender equality.
International Children’s Day was celebrated with events in downtown Tbilisi’s recreational parks, with visitors hosted at Mziuri, Kikvidze, and Vaso Godziashvili parks on Wednesday.
Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze announced the Professional State Youth Theatre would host the International Children and Youth Theatre Festival with the support of Tbilisi City Hall and the National Youth Palace. The festival program will run between June 1-6.
