Rural and Urban Youth Develop New Partnership in Georgia

The isolated mountain village of Bediani, home to a community of 18 former street children, is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Tbilisi along poorly maintained, winding roads. It’s an unlikely destination for young people from Georgia’s capital city; however, thanks to an Alumni Small Grant organized by Muskie alumnus Koba Grdzelishvili, Bediani has become the setting for a unique youth-to-youth development project that builds ties between rural and urban children and teens.

The Bediani youth had been living on the streets and were taken in at special cottages under the supervision of four caretakers. The kids now study alongside other children from the village at Bediani’s public secondary school, which lacks after-school activities and internet access. Koba’s grant project links students and teachers from a resource-rich Tbilisi secondary school with the children of Bediani and their caretakers, opening up a dialogue on topics such as tolerance, human rights, ecology, and local history.

Joint educational sessions, debate lessons, and field trips are held twice a month to help the Bediani children—aged seven through 19—to develop new skills, socialize with peers, and build the self-confidence necessary for future study or employment outside the village. The Tbilisi students, many of whom had not been exposed to rural life before the project, are also benefiting from their contact with the diverse community of Georgians, Armenians, Kurds, and Russians in Bediani and learning valuable lessons about social inclusion. “This project helped me acknowledge the essence of equality and free myself from certain attitudes,” reflected one of the Tbilisi teens. After spending time in the village, “I have more respect for my parents,” another added. “I learned how bees and cows are taken care of and how, in general, agriculture works.” To create a lasting reminder of the partnership, the group worked together to plant a Friendship Garden in Bediani. “I learned that relations are the most important thing,” commented one of the Bediani participants. “This project gave me many new friends.”

Koba Grdzelishvili received a master’s degree in educational policy and administration from the University of Minnesota in 2005 through the Muskie program, a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State and administered by IREX. His USexperience laid the foundation for his professional contributions in Georgia. “My classes at the University of Minnesota gave me more professional confidence in preparing and implementing educational programs in different areas of the high school curriculum,” he reflected. “My internship at a children’s outdoor summer camp in Boulder, Colorado, gave me an excellent experience how to best incorporate teaching skills and knowledge while ensuring a fun atmosphere for children.”

youthCurrently a trainer of human rights education for the NGO Junior Achievement Georgia, Koba has worked to empower youth since returning from the United States—establishing student councils, conducting leadership camps, and heading the Ministry of Education and Science’s Resource Center in his home region of Sachkhere.

A six-minute video of the partnership project provides a valuable firsthand look at the youth together as well as an overview of the project.