August 19, Tbilisi - To respond to the current situation in Georgia since August 8, 2008, Open Society Georgia Foundation activities are focused on two main directions – to coordinate and to fasten immediate humanitarian aid for refugees and to help Georgian media and civil society to deliver their messages to the international audience.  Already on Monday, August 11, the Statement of the Civil Society organization of Georgia has been delivered to our foreign partner, media and international organizations. 

The foundation staff has organized number of immediate activities: 

 - Mobilized volunteer physiologies, psychotherapist and social workers;

- Developed a database of refugees in order to provide the volunteers with updated information on locations where their help is most needed and, minimum medicines required;

- OSGF has allocated its own financial resources to purchase food, first aid medicines, hygienic supplies, clothes, bed linen, child care facilities, etc.

- OSGF has contacted local companies, which contributed their aid to the displaced people free of charge (PSP, Aversi, Silk Road Group, M-group, and many others).

Each staff member of the OSGF monitors a location, where the displaced people are sheltered. Staff meetings are held twice a day to provide each other with a feedback on the situation, data on increase of refugees in each location, what do they need and etc. From the day of commencement of the aid activities number of volunteers from Vera district of Tbilisi assist our colleagues in delivery, loading, transportation of aid. We have full information on the locations we take care on in terms of refugee quantity, children/ adults balance, number of persons in need of special care, their daily requirement in food or medicines.

By August, 19, OSGF together with its partners, has helped to 9,000 IDPs, and up to 5,000 (in 48 refugee locations) are provided with food, clothes, medicines, hygienic materials, kitchen staff on daily basis.

OSGF Hot-line

Office lines: (from 10.00 - 13.00 and 14.00-18.00)

    255092

    250463

Mobile numbers (24 hours available)

(+995 77) 47 11 63 Tiko Tushishvili

(+995 99) 50 84 73 Nino Kiknadze

tushishvili@osgf.ge

nkiknadze@osgf.ge