Gil and Kelvin traveled to Georgia in January 2009 to inspect the heating system installation, deliver items the children at Saguramo had specifically requested, test the children’s vision, and meet with the Tbilisi Rotary Club and the Minister of Health, and visit with the children and staff at Saguramo.
The orphanage was warm inside! They are only heating the second floor to save money, but it has already made a huge difference. During our visit we inspected the installation carefully and met with the contractor to clear up some punchlist items. We also discovered a sewage line blockage, and had that repaired immediately.
Kelvin met with the Tbilisi Rotary Club one evening, and discussed the work of Divine Child at the orphanage. Although we followed up with another meeting a few days later, there did not seem to be a way for them to help us as an organization.
Irma was able to schedule a meeting with the Minister of Health on January 30. He was a younger man who had lived in the United States for a while and returned to Georgia to become part of the new government. He seemed genuinely concerned and very appreciative of our work at Saguramo. We’d had some concerns about the government’s plans for the building we were putting money into; he assured us that there were no plans to close Saguramo. He agreed with us that replacement of the underground power cable was an emergency situation, and said he would get it replaced quickly.
Our time with the children was the fun part of the trip. They were so pleased with the new jeans, sweatshirts, shoes, and other things we brought. We were able to test each child’s vision, and discussed with Irma how we might get them medical evaluations as well. On our last day, we brought bread, cheese, cold cuts, condiments, chips and soda, and M&Ms — Gil wanted to introduce the children to American-style sandwiches. The kids had so much fun that we decided it had to be a trip tradition!
