Seeing how this beautiful Georgian family of Khaptani lives, we, the Fund employees, could hardly hold back our tears. And we have already seen so many misfortunes ... It's hard to believe that people live here! Children! On concrete, in dampness, in dirt!

Father - Jimsher Khaptani (43-year-old) - suffers tuberculosis. Mother - Tamuna(38-year-old) – is a second category disabled, she has had three eye surgeries, which means she has had three anesthesias that impacted her health...The caring parents are unable to keep their two angels - Mari (6-year-old) and Giorgi (3-year-old), they cannot even provide them with basic stuff. And this is the most painful for the parents.

With trust in God and a last sparkle of hope, they addressed us, friends, for help. Because Georgia is a small country with a big heart, and we will never leave our neighbor in trouble.

- Tamuna, what was the misfortune that brought you to us?

Tamuna: Better say a whole set of troubles and misfortunes...Desperation...My children starving... We just have no place to live! We have been moving from one rented apartment (if it can be called so) to another for seven years. Look around, it is not a home, it’s a burrow.

It happened so that both my husband and me are sick and we cannot work to earn some money and not let our children starve. Landlords keep letting us out because we are unable to pay the rent. I don’t know what to do and where to go.

- How did it happen that you found yourselves in such a situation?

Tamuna: My husband has tuberculosis. He has been treated for a long time and now he is permanently supervised by doctors. He cannot strain. He starts coughing and his temperature rises. I am a second category disabled. At the age of 15, I stabbed myself in the eye when I tried to open a bottle of lemonade. I had three surgeries. They saved the eye, but I lost vision forever. I tried to work in a shop, but failed.  Probably, a number of anesthesias I had affected my health. I don’t want to go into details, because I don’t even know exactly what’s wrong with me. There is no money for doctors and the treatment, and I gave up on myself a long time ago. Dizziness, problems of the gastrointestinal tract and spine, I cannot stand for a long time or lift weights ... This is not the way I used to see our future... (Cries.)

- Tell me, how did you meet your love?

Tamuna: I raised in Dighomi, and Jinsher’s relatives lived next to us, so he often visited them. Later it turned out that he was in love with me since childhood...He always found an occasion to write or call me, but he was afraid to confess. He was afraid I would say “no”. Then he made me promise not to push him away after he told me a secret, and he dared. We had been dating for four years when my mother died. I was very attached to her and took her death hard. So it was Jimsher who supported me then and who helped me to overcome the pain. We got married soon. We have been very happy together, indeed, we have got wonderful children. But we never thought that we would have nothing to feed them on ... (Sobs.)

- How did you imagine your future?

Tamuna: I thought that both of us, my husband and me, would be able to work, and provide our children with at least the basic things ...But do you see how it turned to be? Our health flailed. To be honest, I have no idea how to live, we have no place to go, no money to pay rent, the children are half-starving all the time.

– Does anybody help you? Parents or relatives?

Tamuna: There is absolutely nobody to help us. My father died soon after my mother’s death - a stroke. My brothers can hardly make ends meet. One of them has three children, and you know, there is unemployment in our country. As for my husband, his childhood was hard. His mother died when he was quite a baby. His father married for the second time and the stepmother hated her stepson. She often beat and punished him. His grandmother took him to her place - he had no one else in the world except her ... Relatives? They don’t care about us. They have their own troubles, families and kids. Those who could help have already helped. I have been borrowing money from them for years and I am unable to pay off the debts. Who can keep a whole family? Everyone has their own troubles.

- We are so sorry!  And did you address anybody for help? The local government, for instance?

Tamuna: Yes, we did. They occasionally give us some money, it’s called an ad-hoc aid. It’s enough to keep us from dying of hunger. I appealed to the town hall asking to help us with the rent. My request was satisfied, but the problem is that now the rent price dramatically increased and we cannot find any flat. The state covers just 300 GEL of the rent. They are letting us out from this flat, because the landlords are planning to refurbish it. A neighbor can shelter us for several days, but we are unable to sign a rent agreement with her. There is some mess with the documents. So it seems we will end up in the street... With two children... Do you understand?

- How did it happen that you found yourselves without any roof over your head?

Tamuna: My husband has never had any. He used to move from one relative to another all the time. And my parents’ tiny apartment belongs to my brothers. One of them lives there with his three children. Another one is not married and he lives with our relatives.

My husband and me have been renting this house for four years. Actually, you can see that it is not a house, it’s a kennel. The concrete floor, dampness – no whatever conditions. And now they let us out.

–  What is your family income? What’s it enough for?

Tamuna: The social allowance and my disability pension make 380 GEL total. But as we were unable to pay the rent, we had to take a credit from the pension account. We also have a 60-GEL food coupon... Thank God, now it is our turn to get food at the social canteen.

– What do your children eat? What is their everyday diet?

Tamuna: (Sadly smiles) They eat whatever the God gives them, literally. Cereals and pasta is the only food we can afford. And the food from the social canteen. Sometimes we do not have enough money for an extra loaf of bread. When they gave us products home from the kindergarten due to the pandemic, you should have seen how the children were happy to find there a piece of cheese! It was a real feast for them!

– What do you believe in? In what do you see the salvation?

Tamuna: Only the faith supports me. You know, every time when I was about to sink into despair, to give up, a way out always used to pop up. The God is merciful, he is always near, you should only believe.

– Do you believe in the kindness of strangers?

Tamuna: Yes, of course! One should believe! This is a mercy of God too. It often happened that when we had nothing to eat some of the neighbors came to help, they even brought us pots of hot dinner.

- Tamuna, tell me about your children, please.

Tamuna: They are wonderful! The eldest Mari (6-year-old) is a very conscious girl. She understands that we are in a hardship, she is never crotchety when we go shopping, never asks to buy her sweets, but I see how much she wants all this. She can't stand me crying. She always hugs me, trying to comfort me saying: “Mommy, I will not ask you for anything, just don’t cry, please!” This year she went to the first form. You can’t imagine, how happy she is! They gave her a tablet and she feels herself big now. When she was a little girl she used to draw houses, she was quite good at that. She said it was our future home.

Little Giorgi is 3 years old, but he does not talk. Kindergartens are still closed, so he has to stay home and get bored.

- Can I talk to your daughter, please? Hi, pretty Mari! How are you doing? Mommy says you are already big and you go to school.

Mari (6-year-old): Yes! I am a schoolgirl now and they gave me a real computer - a tablet computer! They just warned us to be very careful with it, because it can easily go out of order.

- Do you like going to school? What is your favorite subject?

Mari: Yes, I like it! I will be very smart when I grow up, I will have a job and a lot of money, and I will buy a big and beautiful house for us for sure! I will work at a bank! I love math and I can already count up to 200!

- What a smart girl! What else are you dreaming about?

Mari: I want to have many beautiful dolls, mine are already old and broken. I also want a bicycle for my brother, to ride together. Mine is actually old and often goes out of order - then by daddy fixes it. I also wish that my mommy would never cry...

– Tamuna: what is your biggest dream?

Tamuna: I dream that my children would never starve, that they would always have all the basic staff. That they would have their own roof over the head.

– What, do you think, you need most in your home?

Tamuna: We will be happy to get any help. My children are permanently undernourished. I can’t see their hungry eyes anymore! We have nothing, absolutely nothing! We don’t even know how it is to wash with hot water. Not with a bucket heated on a wood stove! My kids have watched TV only at our neighbor’s place. Nobody will believe that. It would be also good to have diapers for Giorgi, he needs them at night.

– Why did you decide to address us?

Tamuna: I was told that you really help many people. Believe me, you are my last hope! Your Fund has so many good friends. I hope they will take my children’s pain close to heart and will lend us a helping hand. God bless you all for your good deeds!

  ***

Friends, the Khaptani family are our compatriots, and they found themselves in a very difficult situation. Their health condition prevents them from working and providing their children with the basic stuff. But God is merciful and he showed them a way to your kind and empathic hearts!

The Khaptani family is about to end up in the street, they have no place to live, they are deprived of the basic conditions. Little Mariam (6-year-old) and Giorgi (3-year-old) do not know what sweets are, they can just dream of toys and nice clothes. These innocent children simply have no childhood, but it is in our power to help them!

The Khaptani family urgently needs food, appliances and diapers for little Giorgi. The family will be grateful for any help!

You can visit the Khalpani family in person and provide them help. Their address is: Tbilisi, Mukhiani, 3 Khrekhilis street.

Or you can call poor Tamuna and cheer her up! Her phone is: 555 601 165.

Please repost our publication. Let your friends know about the grief of this family! It’s extremely important!

God gives us chances to care about people who are unable to take care of themselves. Do not pass by someone else's trouble! Those poor people are sent to us by heaven so that we could prove not by words, but in deeds that we trust in God!

Friends, there is one more request: if you know about a misfortune of your neighbor or friend, do a godly deed - drop us an email at: office-fsp@fsp.ge

Our Fund’s accounts are: 

#GE15TB7194336080100003

#GE42LB0115113036665000

#GE64BG0000000470458000 

(purpose: Khaptani family) 

You can also transfer money from our website.

It is also possible to transfer money from Nova Technology, TBCpay and ExpressPay terminals. (You can read more about rights and responsibilities of the Fund following the link https://goo.gl/GY2Gus).

We have already helped many disadvantaged people! Let’s support the Khaptani family, as no one is immune to bad luck! And who knows, maybe someday we ourselves will need the help of strangers!

One call saves life - 0901 200 270.