Welfare Services, Georgia

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KEY FACTS

10,000 Jews in Georgia, with 3000 living outside the main towns.

67% live below the poverty line, in crumbling Soviet-style apartment blocks.

94% of elderly Georgian Jews who do not qualify for restitution aid

Communism and the Holocaust reduced Jewish life in Georgia to a wasteland. There are around 10,000 Jews in Georgia, with 3000 living outside the main towns.

The population is a mixture of native Georgian Jews (90%), who are typically involved in their religion and traditions, and the more secular Ashkenazis, who arrived primarily during WWII when they were evacuated with the advance of Nazi armies.

2200 elderly Jews are currently receiving Hesed services, and the Jewish Community Centre serves some 1200 clients providing food and medical assistance as well as home care and psychosocial care. WJR funding is vital for the 94% of elderly Georgian Jews who do not qualify for restitution aid.

Extreme poverty and hopelessness are widespread, as the elderly and families struggle to survive with inadequate pensions, soaring inflation and rising utility and transport costs.

There is no dependable welfare system in place and medical costs are often not covered. 67% live below the poverty line, in crumbling Soviet-style apartment blocks so our support is truly life-saving.