Georgia Relief Efforts: Shalom Supports Bakery and Community Projects
The collaboration between Associazione Shalom – Solidarietà Internazionale and the Caucasian region of Georgia is strengthening. A few days ago, Monsignor Giuseppe Pasotto, Bishop of Tbilisi, the capital, arrived in Riva.
Monsignor Pasotto, together with Father Witold Szeluzynski, director of Caritas Georgia, are the local representatives for the projects that Associazione Shalom is implementing in Georgia, including the bakery already operational in the heart of Tbilisi. The Bishop of Tbilisi wanted to celebrate a Mass for peace, together with the Shalom Community, to reaffirm a friendship that has lasted for several years.
He described Georgia’s still very challenging situation. The living conditions of the population, following independence declared on April 9, 1991, have completely changed. From a certain level of comfort under the previous regime, which provided for all necessities, the country has fallen into an extremely precarious state, due to widespread unemployment, the proliferation of small-scale crime, and the neglect of the elderly and children.
Socio-economic situation and ongoing projects
The Georgian economy was so integrated with the Soviet Union that, upon its collapse, local initiatives found no outlets. The economic downturn caused widespread impoverishment among large segments of the population. According to official statistics, today, 57% of the population lives below the poverty line.
The bakery initiative funded by Shalom contributes to the professional training of the workforce. The bakery, named Shalom, is located in a working-class neighborhood of the capital, which is completely lacking in productive facilities and services. The bread produced is distributed through the urban retail network.
A large portion of the bread is, however, consumed in three soup kitchens for the poor managed by the Caritas organization, which provides over a thousand free meals daily, and at reception centers for children and adolescents from particularly needy families. Given the success of this self-development project, plans are underway, in collaboration with the Associazione Trentina Italia – Georgia, to build another facility.
Another bakery is planned in Kutaisi, the second-largest city in Georgia. As he bid farewell, the Bishop of Tbilisi warmly thanked everyone who contributed financially to the project, reaffirming that the “bread of peace,” as he called it, not only feeds the body regardless of ethnicity (as various religious denominations work together in the bakery), but also nourishes the hope of a better future.
If you wish to participate in this act of fraternity, you can make a financial contribution through the following bank accounts: Cassa Rurale di Arco 02/142146; Postal account 14482384. For more information: Tel. 0464/521194