Humanitarian context
Vulnerabilities in the South Caucasus region remain high due to political instability, climate change, lack of structural development and decentralisation, lack of economic diversification and social inequalities. The region also had to cope with the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war and the 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which displaced more than 100,000 people to Armenia.
Our activity
In 2023, our work in Armenia was expanded to help refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh. Together with local partner organisations, we provided essential support and services, particularly to children and their carers, older people, people with disabilities and people living in remote and border communities.
More than 13,290 refugees benefited from the distribution of vouchers, 1,217 received multi-purpose cash assistance and a further 157 highly vulnerable people benefited from the distribution of food and hygiene assistance to cover their basic needs. We also provided psychosocial and mental health support through our local partners to 750 refugees who had experienced high levels of stress and trauma prior to their displacement to Armenia in September. In addition, mine risk and unexploded ordnance awareness and education for children and youth continued in Armenia.
In Georgia, 886 highly vulnerable Ukrainian refugees received food and hygiene items, and three volunteer organisations received capacity-building support to improve their services to refugees suffering from trauma, lack of income, difficulties in finding affordable accommodation and accessing health services.
In Georgia and Armenia, we continued to provide technical assistance to state agencies to help them improve the employability and entrepreneurial skills of their programme participants. Meanwhile, in Georgia and the breakaway region of Abkhazia, our community-led local development work focused particularly on environmental initiatives, women's empowerment and leadership, and youth engagement. This translated into financial support for projects to improve community infrastructure, access to basic services and job creation.
Similarly, in Abkhazia, support in preparing for the winter and training in agricultural subsistence increased the self-sufficiency of vulnerable families, while young people were provided with vocational training in carpentry, plumbing and metalwork. Our multi-year school water, sanitation and hygiene project provided 5,202 children with access to safe water and improved sanitation facilities during the year.
WHERE
WE HELP
We help 24.5 million people each year. We work in 55 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, those most threatened by hunger.
EYEWITNESSES
NONA: "THE ADDITIONAL INCOME MADE ME BRAVER AND MORE SELF-CONFIDENT"
Nona Kajaja is an internally displaced person from Abkhazia, an area in the South Caucasus. Despite having de facto status as an independent nation, most of the global community recognises it as an autonomous entity within Georgia.
She currently lives in Ingiri, a village in Georgia, where she has a small sewing salon in a house where she lives with her family. Nona is one of the beneficiaries of a grant from the project "Improving Local Governance through Inclusive Development Approaches", funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation body. "I learned about the grant opportunity at an information meeting held in our village by members of the Zugdidi LAG. I participated in a grant competition [which] I won and received modern equipment to improve my sewing workshop," Nona explains.
The grant enabled Nona to purchase a sewing machine, an overlock machine and an embroidery machine. This investment has improved Nona's working conditions by diversifying her services and increasing her income. "There are other tailors in our village, but most of them accept simple orders. With the new apparatus, I am now able to offer my customers a different service," says Nona.
The opportunity to upgrade and modernise the equipment in her workshop was essential to boost Nona's business, and at the same time to envision a future with improved working conditions. "Before, I only made bed linen, but after receiving the grant, I started sewing clothes. The additional income made me more courageous and self-confident, both in society and in the family, as a successful and independent woman deserves more respect and appreciation. In the future, I hope to further improve my services and expand my sewing business," Nona concludes.
