Economic integration, housing and social infrastructure for internally displaced persons

active

The aim of the project is to improve the integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the breakaway western Georgian region of Abkhazia in mainland Georgia. This is to be achieved through interventions in three areas: Component 1 Improved access to community-based pre-school education and social integration and participation of IDPs and host communities - construction or rehabilitation of 10 kindergartens and a cultural center in or near IDP settlements, including training for their staff, - organisation and instruction for young IDPs to independently prepare and carry out 24 small-scale measures (community support projects) in or near IDP settlements. Component 2 Economic integration of IDPs and host communities - construction or rehabilitation and operation of 2 community education centers in or near IDP settlements with classrooms and shops, - Work placement program for 130 young IDPs in SMEs,  Granting of 236 livelihood grants to improve the agricultural use of the land of people benefiting from component 3, Component 3 Improvement of housing situation and livelihood of IDPs  Construction of around 236 small houses for IDPs in western Georgia and Marneuli on agricultural land already owned by the IDPs. Regionally, the project will concentrate mainly on the western Georgian region of Samegrelo, which borders Abkhazia, and its district town of Zugdidi. The only exception is the district town of Marneuli in the Kvemo Kartli district, south of Tbilisi. The project sponsor for all three components will be the NGO Danish Refugee Council (DRC), which has been active in Georgia for many years and whose work as a policy advisor and project implementer is valued equally by the Georgian government, other development partners and IDPs. A financial contribution of EUR 1.5 million is to be made to finance the project. EUR 10.0 million, which was pledged in 2017. Assuming that the Georgian government will also grant a VAT exemption for this project as its own contribution, the total cost of the project is expected to be around EUR 11 million.