Don’t feel ashamed if you have a child with Down Syndrome!

Every pregnant woman, who has already done blood analysis, which shows that her baby has down syndrome can make genetic investigation-Amniocentesis free of charge at Ghudushauri National Medical Center to assure the fact in maximum 15weeks pregnancy .After the first shocking reaction comes the question; if the mother and Georgian society is ready for having children like this.
The geneticist Lali Margvelashvili says that Amniocentesis in Georgia is performed for one year. Ultrasound investigation can show in earliest 11weeks pregnancy if there is the chance the fetus can have Down syndrome. Blood analyze could be only 80% true and that’s why they do Amniocentesis, which is 100%correct.It is a medical procedure in which a small amount of fluid, which contains fetal tissues is examined for genetic abnormalities. In 15weeks pregnancy, when abortion is possible it’s up to mother what will she decides. As Margvelashvili says there is no exact statistics In Georgia about the number of pregnant women with Down syndrome.”AS I know 23cases were found out with Down syndrome during prenatal diagnosis in our clinic last year, “says Margvelashvili.She can’t say exact numbers but some of them decided to make an abortion.
Psychotherapeutic Lika Tushishvili also agrees that there is no exact statistic about the people with Down syndrome in Georgia. As she says the reason could be that families are ashamed of having the children like this.”There is some kind of assistance for the children with Down syndrome in our country, but the families refuse to take this because they don’t want to talk loud about the issue, “says Tushishvili.When a few families turn to the psychologist expensive procedure-about GEL25 for an hour to help their child, they should realize that first they need help. “The parent must adjust the idea, that their child is a little bit different, with law mental abilities, but as normal member of the society as any of us in the world. Psychologist also helps the child to feel the same and makes him feel that he has the right to be happy with his life, “says Tushishvili.
The mother of 3year-year-old Sergi Stepanishvili still hopes that her son visually looks like as to be born with Down syndrome and the proper treatment can cure him. During prenatal care she knew nothing. When she found out after the childbirth that her baby had Down syndrome she thought to live him in the puerperal, but her elder daughter didn’t let her do this. Now everything has changed, the whole family cares with a lot of love about him, but as almost all the parents of this kind of children in Georgia they are reluctant to talk about this problem sociably. Although they live very needy they try to do their best and do investigations for improving his condition. As the pediatrician of Stepanishvili says he doesn’t have any extra complications with his health:”Mostly he has cough problem. In all his health condition is satisfactory this time”.
Worldwide is estimated the incidence of Down syndrome 1 per 800 to 1,000 births. Stephanie Dietrich was seven month pregnant when she found out that her baby could be born with Down syndrome. Since that time the whole family including elder daughter Sophie 10, started getting used to the Idea that Marie is as ordinary person as they are and have the same rights as every human in the world. “It would be extremely difficult to decide abortion or not in the very moment, if I had ability to make genetic investigation of Down syndrome in early pregnancy. But I think I would choose the life of my child, “said Mrs. Dietrich mother of 5-year-old Marie:”Sure a lot of things changed after her birth. She needs a lot of and especial care, it’s hard, but Marie is my life.” Now Mrs. Dietrich is an active member of the Family Association which has children with Down syndrome In Germany to encourage young mothers who find out with early testing that they could have the children with the same symptoms not to make abortion and get used to it.

Down syndrome is a combination of birth defects, including some degree of mental retardation and characteristic facial features; an unusually round face, an abnormally small chin, protruding or oversized tongue, an almond shape to the eyes. Down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome.

Jews in Georgia

They are almost 8 thousand in Georgia, Call themselves Georgian Jews and have the same problems as each Georgian today has: jobs and not enough salaries.
“We are Georgians, “said Avimilikh Rosenblatt the deputy of main Rabbi,” I am born and grown up in Tbilisi. We have nothing to complain against Georgian government and society. On the contrary they are always ready to help us in any case if we need their maintenance.”
In Judaism, a rabbi is a religious teacher. As Rosenblatt said Jews in Georgia come to him always with religious problems, because religion defines all the aspect of their life. On the holidays they have a very strict law about working, it’s forbidden for them to work on some holidays. Most of Jews work with Georgian employers and almost all Georgians make exception for them and let them have a holiday even if it is a working day in the whole Georgia.
“If there is any special case and employer insists on working, because of some need we try together to find any way-out, because we have some laws and all Jews have to obey this laws, “said Rosenblatt, “But this kind of issues happen very seldom.“
Georgian Jews meet each other in Synagogue. There are two Synagogues in Tbilisi on Leselidze Street. Rosenblatt said that Synagogue is financed from contributions. They have different rituals every day and Jews buy the right to take part in these rituals through the auctions. The more people take part in the auctions the more money is contributed. The number of the prayers lessened last time and the Synagogue doesn’t have as much money as before. Sometimes some international organizations make contributions for Synagogue.Jews pray three times a day, once in the morning and two times in the evenings. Isaac Beridze who tries to come to Synagogue every evening can’t also remember any kind of discrimination from Georgian people:
“We don’t really have any lack of attention from Georgian government,” said Beridze,”We have regular relations with Georgians. Journalists also come when we have any holidays or special events. We live here as in our home town and have exactly the same problems what Georgian Orthodox’s today have.“
As Isaac Beridze said they have some Jewish newspapers and NGOs in Tbilisi, “The 26th Century”, “Club of Jewesses” who have connections with Journalists and give them information if something special or interesting happens. Thematically their events are almost religious.
His relative,74year-old Jacob Xaxiashvili who moved to Israel because of some private reasons and visits Georgia very often tried to explain their condition with a little joke:”If we are religious minority in Georgia, they call us ethnic minority in Israel, because we are here Jews and in Israel Georgian Jews, “said Xaxiashvili.
Georgian-speaking Jewry is one of the oldest surviving Jewish communities in the world. The Georgian Jews have approximately 2,600-year history in the region.Some claim they are descendants of the exiled ten tribes of Israel by Shalmaneser V of Assyria. Another more popular view is that the first Jews made their way to southern Georgia after Nebuchadnezzar conquest of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. and exile in Babylon
The Georgian public defender raised the question of registering status of religious minorities. The deputy of Rabbi said that Jewish government is actively taking part in the negotiations:”Although we live in normal conditions in Georgia we have nothing against having status, “said Avimilikh,”Rosenblatt This is a more privilege for Jews. “

Vocational Training for IDPs offers better life

One of Giorgi Sherozia's works by Vocational Training


Giorgi Sherozia was born in Sukhumi, Abkhazia at just the wrong time. He was a four-month-old baby when his parents fled the war with four children and moved to a shelter in Senaki. His family never truly got on their feet again financially, and all are still living in shelters, including the older married siblings. When his parents died both within the past two years, Giorgi and his next-youngest sister moved to live with an aunt in shelter at Factory 31, closer to Tbilisi.
So the fact that Sherozia, who will turn 18 in March, now has a job as a professional engraver with a local carpenter means that at least for him, the family fortunes may have finally turned more.
“My aunt sells cheese in the bazaar. Now I can work and earn money for my family, “he said.
Sherozia got the job thanks to a vocational training program run by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which he found about by a notice posted up in collective center. After five months training he was employed, along with the six best pupils of the group as an engraver. ”He had no absence. This kind of pupil motivates us to do our best,” said Manana Niazashvili, the deputy of director of Multi-field Professional College, which offers the courses for NRC.
Currently there are around 230,000 refugees from the 1991 Abkhazian conflict and throughout Georgia and about 96,000 of them still live in collective centers and suffer financially according to the statistics of the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation. More than 26,000 refugees added to these 230,000 IDPs from the August 2008 conflict in South Ossetia. That’s why the Norwegian Refugee Council is expanding its professional training courses for refugees, also known as internally displaced persons, starting in March, for 700 IDPs from both the 1990s war in Abkhazia and the more recent conflict last August in South Ossetia.
Each course is five months, and tuition is paid to a local professional training school In addition to professional skills each course involves one week training on computer programs, entrepreneurship and health issues like HIV and drug prevention.
Fifty-nine groups, each with 16 students, will start studying at the same time throughout the country. The participants must be between 17and 25 years old, who don’t have high education or any kind of profession and have hard social conditions. Project organizers say this project gives participants an opportunity to get specialized at concrete level of any profession.
“As we don’t have a lot of time we teach them very concrete specialties like cook and confectioner separately and not both of them together,” said Manana Kvachakhia, NRC’s training program leader.
After finishing the course the students will get a state certificate from the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, and will be employed with the help of the project leadership. They will also be able to open some small companies on the territory of professional institutes.
The project started one year ago with 500 pupils in Tbilisi, with nearly half getting employed after finishing the training in Imereti, Samegrelo, Qvemo and Shida Kartli, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Adzharia and Kakheti. They design courses around the most in-demand professions, such as cooks, tailor, confectioners, stylists, bartenders andadministrators.The last three are especially popular in Adzharia because of tourism development.
The NRC program establishes connection with potential employers; researching which profession any certain region needs and advises applicants which course they should take.
“This year most of the applicants from Gori applied for masseur and hairdressers, but we refused to make further courses to this direction in this region. We advised them take another courses, because they can’t be employed in the future. Our point is their employment, not just only specialization,” said Kvachakhia
NRC contends this project is one of the most important parts of their IDP integration program.
“Shelter rehabilitation, Education and free legal assistance are the core point of our activity to maintain the reintegration of so called old and new IDPs in Georgia, Manana Gabashvili, the Deputy of Director of NRC. They also issued the set of school text-books_ “The Way to Human Rights” for children as well for teachers and even parents.
NRC thinks it has already exhausted its mission in Georgia. It is their last instructive project there. They are going to close down their office in Georgia after two years and hand over the project of Professional prepare to the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.

My Profile by Nino Ananiashvili

Nino had the opportunity many Georgians dream about: to live in a foreign country. For two years, she lived in Dusseldorf with relatives, where she studied the German language, passed exams, and was getting ready to attend University.
But she was never satisfied there. Whatever she did, she was never happy. She realized that she was homesick for her native country and so she returned to Georgia last summer.
“Here, in Georgia I feel that I am a person and somebody knows me. In Germany, I felt lost, that nobody knew me,” says Nino.
Besides studying journalism, Nino enjoys Georgian national dancing. In her opinion it has two positive sides. It’s very beautiful to perform and also is good exercise. She likes demonstrating the graceful moves of a dancer.
The ugliest thing for her is the frog, with its’ slimy, disgusting appearance. She sees no sense in the existence of frogs. In life she characterizes people she doesn’t like as “frogs:” aimless and smoothies. Fortunately for Nino, she can easily figure out peoples’ character.
“I can walk away or avoid those types of people,” said Nino.

New Initiative by Christian-Democrates

One of the main demands of the party of Christian-democrats was the increase of pensions for Mighty-Structure and war veterans. They demand to grow the pensions about 560GEL according to their quality of experience.
The assistant of chairman of Christian-Democrats Giorgi Axvlediani stated that the pensions are wrongly distributed. The reform about the rising pensions concerned only the people who were retired after the revolution. Unlike them pensioners retired before the revolution get only 22-30GEL. Though before the revolution they got the privilege 160-180GEL.
This problem is actual for five years and the Christian-democrats are fighting against it already for an year and a half, but the authority has never responded positively towards this problem. They consider these pensioners corrupted and legally they don’t deserve increased pensions. ,, If the authority distribute its priorities properly, there will appear enough money in the budget for pensions,” said Axvlediani. 27 percent of the budget takes military self-defense structure, while only 11 percent is spent for social problems, that must be changed in their opinion.
Christian-Democrats offer The Ministry of health Care to discuss this issue and send the request to the government to find out approximately 30- 40 million GEL to solve this problem. ,, we don’t have ambition to settle this problem immediately, It is long-term perspective and it will take about 3 -5 years,” said Axvlediani.
This statement was made on 9th of November. They are not going to stop fighting against this problem. On 10th of November at 1 pm. Political Party is organizing peaceful demonstration in front of The Ministry of Healthcare. They hope to see Minister and discuss this issue together.
The Ministry of Healthcare hasn't given any comment about the statment of the Christian-democrates yet.

13 Victims at Fort Hood in Texas

BBC news broadcasted yesterday that Maj Nidal Malik Hasan, a US-born Muslim, opened fire at Fort Hood on Thursday.13 people were killed,army psychiatrist was shot four times and he still stays under a coma.ABout 30 people were terribly damaged and they are still carrying life-threatening injuries.Mr Obama the president of USA praises the heroism of army and calls the shooting "one of the most devastating ever committed on an American military base".
CNN interviewed the daughter and wife of Michael Cahil one of the killed among the 13.He worked as a physician's assistant Soldier Readiness Program at Fort Hood.He had a heart attack three weeks ago before the accident,but a week later he went to work.He wasn’t the kind of person to sit at home and wallow over his heart attack,said his family.He was the only civilian out of the 13 victims.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/08/fort.hood.civilian.death/index.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8347969.stm

Truth or Prejudice

Some people say- fire and water can clean us from bad energy and vicious forces.Is it truth or just a prejudice?
Ancestors used the smoke of candles to drive away black forces.Old people say aroma of rose, eucalyptus, jasmine and mint cleans a house from black forces.To light the candles it’s not only the therapeutics of aroma but also brings you the soul calmness.If one have a hard day rhythm and have a bad mood, as soon as he comes home should light red rose aroma candles and look at them for a long time.It helps to calm down and make free from negative emotions.
There are some cases when somebody tells water his story after he had a nightmare or seen something terrible.There also rumours that water can help a person avoid negative emotions.That’s why some people wash their hands during five minutes after coming home,to get free from all bad energy.They say,it’s better to have a dinner when you are clean from all negative emotions.It’s not good to dine during irritation and anger ,because this time food transforms itself in the organism to toxic energy.