By Violeta Roman - MEERO Communications
Officer
People in Tbilisi, Georgia, will spend
their Orthodox Easter destitute due to the recent earthquake which measured
6.0 on the Richter scale. Many of the homeless are children and old people
who watched helplessly as their homes fell apart. About 120 schools and
kindergartens were affected and 28 hospitals and 20 clinics were seriously
damaged.
Medico Kubua is a 65-year old woman from the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia. She and her husband, who is now 72, were displaced from their region nine years ago when Abkhazia broke away with the Georgian government. The old lady and her husband, who is currently unemployed, had been living in an old building in the area of the Tbilisi until the April 25 earthquake.
"Life is more miserable now because we have to live in a tent outside for fear the building might collapse if another earthquake strikes again. Any help at this point would be welcome. I am probably speaking for the others whose fate is the same as mine. My biggest wish is to go home, where I belong, and spend the rest of my days there," says the old lady.
The day after the earthquake, World Vision went to one of the affected zones to make a rapid assessment of the situation. According to the needs identified in the area, World Vision has distributed shoes and clothes to children and elderly people in two of the affected areas.
As food was one of the greatest needs, World Vision, in partnership with World Food Program (WFP) distributed wheat flour, vegetable oil, beans and canned fish. World Vision will continue to distribute wheat flour to people daily, and will make arrangements with local bakeries to provide bread which will also be for distribution.
Water and sanitation remain the most important needs in the areas where the affected people are temporarily sheltered. There are virtually no existing or useable sanitation facilities in the collective areas. It is feared that major health problems or an epidemic may occur if this need is not addressed. World Vision has taken responsibility of providing temporary latrines, showers and safe drinking water facilities.