Jun 16, 2015

Georgia REAP Helps Organize Relief Efforts Post-Flood

On June 15, hundreds of young volunteers showed up to help with relief efforts in flood effected parts of Tbilisi, despite government warnings of dangerous zoo animals wandering freely in the central streets of Tbilisi. A glaring gap that was identified in the aftermath of the flood was the disproportional amount of willing volunteers to the necessary equipment needed. District offices had to temporarily turn away volunteers due to a lack of shovels and wheelbarrows, which were needed to clear uprooted trees, branches, mud and silt that was left as a result of the floods. Upon learning about the need for such equipment, USAID’s Restoring Efficiency to Agriculture Production (REAP) project organized a large donation of shovels, wheelbarrows, gloves, rain boots and hats. The donation was made possible by REAP’s grantee organizations including: Agrokartli, Argovita, Argoservice, Zurab Tetvadze and David Omanashvili. REAP and these five grantees quickly organized three trucks of equipment that was driven to the Office of the Vake District Local Government from Shida Kartli and Karkheti regions. Within minutes of the arrival of the donation, the shovels were given out, wheelbarrows were put together and eager volunteers were transported to areas heavily affected by the flash flood.