Introduction:
We have been in Tbilisi and the Republic of Georgia since the mid 1990s.
Timeline:
1995 – outreach festivals, Jewish holidays, Passover; a local congregation formed
1999 – Aliyah from Georgia: many who dreamed of returning to the land of their forefathers, Israel, could not do so due to personal circumstances. In many cases this meant their financial situation. Over a thousand people were helped through the program. The Messianic Jewish Alliance of America and Messianic Jewish Movement International participated in our program as well. It was a grassroots program, independent of any government involvement.
2002 – Tbilisi earthquake aftermath: those who could not immigrate to Israel were left behind. This meant the old, weak, sick, disabled, and orphaned. Jewish people in Tbilisi, for the most part, were living in the Old Town. There, old houses were damaged the most during the earthquake, many of them unsafe for human habitation and others with serious damage, including cracked or fallen walls and roofs. We started a program to renovate these homes, and provided heating and other assistance to people. We organized the community so that they could be involved in the process.
Post Soviet Union Georgia was in a deep crisis. Frequent electricity shortages left people literally in the dark, with no heating, running water, or food, and often unemployed. We ran a program of supplying kerosene and kerosene heaters, food, clothing and medical assistance. Those to benefit were often the old, widows, disabled, and the most poor.
2004 – “adopt a family” program: stipends and scholarships for single parents and orphans. We’ve seen children grow up, graduate from college, start families and jobs. This is ongoing.
Throughout the years we’ve visited Georgia many times, organizing and facilitating summer and winter camps, bible study groups and providing all kinds of assistance, e.g. emergency medical-hospitalization, surgeries, etc. Currently we sponsor 2 Tbilisi based Bible groups with teaching through membership based blog websites and local meetings.
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