In August, EWMI ACCESS issued four new projects to combat COVID-19 challenges and support vulnerable groups. Of the new projects, three out of four focus on promoting vaccination against COVID-19 and increase vaccine confidence and uptake in Georgian regions.
The Sighnaghi-based Knowledge Café recruited respected doctors and volunteers for a wide-scale campaign. The doctors go door-to-door for the village’s elderly population, inform them about the benefits of vaccination and provide recommendations tailored to their specific health needs. Meanwhile, the volunteers disseminate brochures and register the elderly population for vaccination. The Café also produces awareness-raising material (posters and videos) and holds online discussions with exciting speakers, including clergy members.
The Racha Community-Based Organization will also organize an intensive information campaign encouraging and supporting local citizens to get vaccinated. The Rachian team will go door-to-door in over 40 villages of the Ambrolauri municipality. They will hold open meetings between residents and trusted doctors, offering medical advice and transportation services to vaccination centers.
Another group of civic activists from Kakheti, Giorgi Orkodashvili, Mariam Geldiashvili, and Aleksandre Gulbiani, will train 30 teachers from the Keda and Akhmeta municipalities to raise awareness about COVID-19 vaccination. Afterward, the team will assist teachers in designing and implementing customized awareness-raising activities aimed at encouraging their colleagues and fellow citizens to get vaccinated.
Mariam Mitaishvili will lead a fourth project to provide psychological and emotional support to children with cancer and their families during the pandemic. This project has a two-fold structure. Firstly, psychologists will hold individual online psychotherapy sessions with children undergoing cancer treatment at the Iashvili Clinic and their parents/caregivers. They will also hold group art therapy sessions for the children and group psychotherapy consultations for parents/caregivers. Secondly, the team will raise awareness about the importance of psychotherapy for children with cancer and their families and advocate for increased support from the government to cover costs of psychological services to this group.
