July 19, 2024
News
In Georgia, ensuring that every child gets the best start in life is an ongoing challenge. The lack of specialists in the field of early childhood development affects the services children receive. Caritas Czech Republic helps with training more specialists across the country and cooperating with the Ministry of Health to provide children with equal opportunities.
Why early support matters
Many families in Georgia, especially in rural areas, struggle to access quality early education and healthcare services for their children. Unfortunately, children who cannot access the care they need fall behind in their development. Early support is important for children with developmental delays. They need to be supported in their natural environments like their homes or kindergarten.
However, there are not enough specialists for early childhood development in Georgia. The few available specialists are overwhelmed, often leading to burnout and quitting. Besides, limited funding means that many choose to work privately instead of in state-funded services.
“Many of the children that require specific support do not attend kindergarten right now, because the teachers do not know how to deal with their sometimes-difficult behaviors,” says Rusudan Chkhubianishvili, project manager at Caritas Czech Republic, who has been focusing on the improvement of services for children in Georgia.
Training new specialists and expanding to rural areas
Since 2015, Caritas Czech Republic has been cooperating with the government of Georgia to address these issues. Last year, a new initiative began with the aim to improve the inclusive education for children in Georgia. By updating social policies and helping the Ministry of Health, we strive to create a more supportive environment. We are training new specialists in early intervention and establishing new early development services in areas where they are currently lacking, including rural areas. Kindergartens in Tbilisi, Dusheti, and Rustavi will also receive our support to be able to provide the children with the best care and inclusive environment.
“Our goal is to make sure that all children with developmental challenges are enrolled in kindergartens, where they can benefit from quality educational support from an early age. It is important that all children have the same chances,” says Rusudan Chkhubianishvili.
Some achievements are already noticeable. The training course to train new specialists has been recognised by the Georgian government. This means that there can be a unified course throughout the whole country, which makes it easier to train new specialists. “This is a great success because even in Tbilisi, Georgia's largest city, there are not enough specialists or service centres for all children who require specific support,” says Chkhubianishvili. In the training course, kindergarten teachers are learning how to effectively include and support children with developmental challenges.
As Chkhubianishvili explains, early support for children is vital. “It should be any country's priority to support children with specific requirements and ensure that they are included in rehabilitation or early intervention services,” explains Rusudan Chkhubianishvili. According to the expert, providing timely appropriate services to children with specific requirements early not only improves their chances of recovery but also saves costs in the long run. “The cost of treatment or rehabilitation is much more expensive for adults. Governments should keep this in mind and focus on early childhood development,” adds Chkhubianishvili.
Sharing experiences with colleagues in the Czech Republic
Recently, we organised a visit to the Czech Republic for Georgian experts in the field of early childhood development, so that they could learn and share experiences. One of the visitors was Inga Zarandia, head of the Georgian early development center. “We saw many differences, but also similarities between our countries' approaches in the early childhood development. I believe sharing these experiences will help us find new ideas,” shares Zarandia.
One of the things Inga Zarandia noticed was the support services for parents of children who need specific requirements. “I absolutely believe that these services are very important. However, in Georgia, it is difficult to provide them,” she says.
Caritas Czech Republic in Georgia
Caritas Czech Republic has supported the Georgia government in improving health and social services for years. We work closely with the Ministry of Health on systemic changes in the country. We provide training for doctors to keep them up to date with the latest news in medicine, which is constantly evolving.
We have been protecting the rights of people with disabilities in Georgia for many years and providing them with appropriate services. Since 2020, we have been engaged in a large-scale initiative to support the Georgian government in the process of deinstitutionalisation. The aforementioned process includes the development of relevant legislation and the provision of family-type homes and services for people with disabilities in state care.
We can work on improving the health and social services in Georgia thanks to the support from the Czech Development Agency.
