Estonia Supports Psychological Services For Georgian Women and Youth Affected by War
12.03.2010
The Foreign Ministry is supporting the Psycho-social Rehabilitation
Centre in the region of Gali in Georgia with 55 860 kroons, donated
through the Gali Women’s Association.
One of the priority activities of the Gali Women’s Association is
the development of the Psycho-social Rehabilitation Centre. The centre
has been functional for five years, and its goal is to provide
psychological support and counseling to the women and youth of the Gali
region. Estonia’s contribution is the first donation the centre has
received in a long time to support the maintenance of the facility. For
a while the centre only functioned thanks to the volunteer work of
psychologists.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said that the Psycho-social
Rehabilitation Centre offers free consultations and counseling to
patients. “At the moment it is extremely difficult for residents of the
Gali region to get psychological counseling,” Paet noted. The foreign
minister believes that the opportunity to get professional
psychological help is especially important in the Gali region. “The
people in this region live in an extremely difficult situation, which
is why it can be hard to come to terms with some aspects of everyday
life. All those who need help should have the opportunity to receive a
psychological consultation in addition to medical aid,” said Paet.
The region of Gali is situated in Georgia, in the region of
Abkhazia. The region is extremely poor and was ravaged by the war.
Georgians make up 95% of the population of the region and many of them
are internally displaced persons that are awaiting the chance to return
to their homes.
The project is being funded from the Foreign Ministry’s development
and humanitarian aid budget for 2009. The Foreign Ministry’s
development and humanitarian aid budget for 2009 is 40 million kroons.
Along with Afghanistan, Moldova and Ukraine, Georgia is one of Estonia’s primary development co-operation partners.
More detailed information on the projects and an overview of
Estonia’s development co-operation projects in previous years can be
found at: http://www.vm.ee/?q=en/taxonomy/term/55.
