If we are destined to die, all three of us will die.

- Says Ia, the mother of these children.

“Mom walks on wheels, it hurts her!But I give her pills!"  - the little beauty Keti shouts with pride and childish naivety, greeting us at the doorway, making the eyes of the adults wet. She is a "sunny child", as the children with Down syndrome are called now... "Mom, Mom, the guests came to visit us!" - a wonderful little girl, indeed looking like the sun, runs into the room with joyful screams and jumps on the knees of a woman sitting in a wheelchair...

"Beautiful Ia, beautiful Ia, don't cry, does it hurt again?" - 8-year-old Keti gently strokes her mother’s head...

“She acts like that all the time - she never leaves me alone! You know how much she takes care of me?! And the doctors said that we would both die, that I am disabled, and I won’t be able to take care of my sick daughter! It’s scary to recall all the nasty things they told me when she was born...” (Ia covers her face with her hands.)

A terrible accident that happened 25 years ago divided Ia's life into two parts: before and after. It confined a 16-year-old girl to bed for two years... “Nobody thought that I would ever be able to sit, let alone walk,” the poor woman sobs. - But, as you can see, the Lord gave me not only the opportunity to move with the help of a wheelchair, but also the greatest happiness - to become the mother of my wonderful babies! I live for their sake!

Ia is a real hero! Being confined to a wheelchair, she gave birth to 8-year-old Keti and 7-year-old Gabriel. They survive in terrible conditions living on a tiny allowance, and they really need our support.

“Let's have some coffee, mom can't make it, so, I'll make it instead. Look, she has wheels instead of her feet. So funny! But her wheels need to be fixed. They break sometimes. And please, bring us cake next time! Coffee with cake tastes better,” - little Keti tells us very quickly and does not stop hugging her mother. She literally crawls over her like a kitten...

Ia: Oh, she's my little chatter-box, it's hard to understand her because she doesn't finish the words, but I understand her. Probably you have noticed that Keti has Down syndrome.  You can’t even imagine how sweet she is! They told me so many nasty things when I gave birth to her! Eight years have passed, and these words are still stuck like a knife in my heart!

- Could you please tell us about that? You are right, sometimes words hurt more than bodily suffering.

Ia: It’s true! Let’s start from the very beginning. I have not always been like that. I used to be a healthy woman, but one incident broke me and my whole life! I got married immediately after graduating from school. We loved each other so much! He was 21 and I was 16. We were so happy! In 1996 we were coming back home; it was a rainy day and my husband lost control and the car skidded... The blow was very strong. My husband was the only one who did not get any injuries. I got a severe injury - a spine fracture, and his mother, who was with us, died in his arms before the ambulance arrived. It was a nightmare!

- How did you manage to recover after that? Who took care of you?

Ia: My husband and my mother... I was in bed for two years. Nobody guaranteed us that I would ever be able to sit down or move... But I became able to sit! Despite me being a disabled person who needs a wheelchair, I was able to give birth to children, and I'm happy! They are my everything! They are my life! But it is hard to bring them up alone.

- Why were you left alone? You said your husband took care of you?

Ia: You know, he just left five years ago... Children were little back then. He decided not to live with us. I can’t judge him. Probably it’s hard to live with a disabled person. I don’t judge him, and I won’t allow anybody to judge him. He gave me two wonderful children.

- Ia, could you please tell me more about Keti? Did you know about her diagnosis before her birth?

Ia: No. She was born 8-month premature. They placed her in an incubator. I haven’t seen her for a week. When I came to take her home, they told me that she was born sick, that she was disabled and that I won’t be able to take care of her. I still hear these words in my ears: “You are a disabled person, and you gave birth to a disabled person too... You are not here for long. You won't be able to take care of her all the time. You will suffer and will ruin her, and ruin yourself." They were telling me that about my baby! Can you imagine that? It hurt so much, I felt so unhappy back then... There was no one to support me. I cried but I did not abandon my daughter. I hugged her and said that I would struggle for her life. If our destiny is to die, we will die together. But you see what a pretty girl I have! Mommy’s joy!

- Ia, isn’t it difficult for you to bring them up?

Ia: To say that it is difficult is to say nothing... You know, we don’t have just one problem that we cannot solve... We have so many problems that you cannot even count all of them.

- Let’s start with the main one.

Ia: Okay. The biggest and the most important problem for me is my broken wheelchair. I am afraid that one day it will fall apart, and I will hurt myself so that no doctor would be able to put me together again.

- Aren’t you entitled to get a wheelchair from the state?

Ia: I am, and I wrote about that many times... The one I am using now is what the state gave me. But they are not eternal. When you use them, they get worn out and you need to change them. But their respond is: “We gave you one - that’s enough... There is no money in the budget.” So, I use that one. I sometimes remind them, but with no result.

- We will certinly write a letter to your deputy.

Ia: Thanks a lot! Because they don’t hear me. Another big problem is that I have no washing machine. You can’t imagine how hard it is for me. I put a washing basin on my knees and wash that way - I can’t let my children go to school wearing dirty clothes.

- Do they go to school by themselves?

Ia: I take them there in the morning and bring them back when the lessons end. They are still little. I don’t want anyone to offend them on their way. You know what I mean. They can stop them; they can even point a finger at them. It is very hard to stand it. But I understand that my daughter is not like the other children. I came to term with that.

- Ia, what is your income? How do you manage to survive?

Ia: I get pension - 140 GEL. My daughter gets 250 GEL. Plus, social allowance. I buy cereals, pasta, bread, and jam. That’s our food. Sometimes I treat my children with chicken legs when they are on sale. I am not saying anything about my medications which I need to take daily - I take them every other day or once in three days. You know, I can’t buy painkillers if I know that my children will stay hungry because of that. Do you think the pills are cheap? One pill cost like two loafs of bread - it’s nice, isn’t it? How to live? I can’t work, I am completely alone. I have no husband, my parents died long ago, let them rest in peace. What can I do?

- It’s incredible! You are a real hero!

Ia: Yes, this is how I imagine myself - I will be a superhero for my children! I will not leave them alone!

- So, Keti has already met us, she offered us some coffee, but Gabrielle is not showing up. Can I please talk to him?

Ia: Yes, Keti is so loving, you see, she does not leave me alone. Gabro is a very shy boy.

Keti (8-year-old): I love my mom. Her boo-boo hurts. Keti gives her pills and water! Keti is good!

- What does good Keti want to have?

Keti: A scooter for Gabro and a cold tea and cake for Keti! I will make coffee and it will be delicious! And bring me cartoons.

- Do you want a TV?

Keti: Mom, do I want a TV? I want cartoons!

Ia: She dreams about a TV! She is so funny!

- Ia, and what do you need?

Ia: Please, don’t ask me... I need massage, medications, diapers, I really need a phone. But I addressed you not because of that. I want you to give me hope that my children will not go to bed hungry, that I would not worry that there is no food for them to eat the next day.

***

Friend, we have nothing to add. One post will not be enough to count all the problems this family has. We told you about the main ones, and now we are waiting for you to make a main decision: will you just shake your head and say that life in Georgia is difficult, or you will do what your heart tells you to do and will follow its call.

Friends, the Chernovetskyi Charity Fund starts a charity campaign to help Ia Kokashvili. As you know, the Fund never stops on ad-hoc help. Georgians should live like the proudest nation on earth - Georgians - deserve!

This family really needs foodstuffs, medications, a washing machine, and a wheelchair to survive. Help them to survive, consider them your family.

You can visit them in person and provide them all possible help, and God will bless you! He will reward you! Their address is - Tserovani, refugees settlement, house #16.

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

God gives us chances to take care of people who are unable to take care of themselves. Not all people are the same. Not all of them are as kind as we are. 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 the misfortune of a 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: Ia Kokashvili).

You can also transfer money from our website.

It is also possible to transfer money from ОРРА, TBCpay and ExpressPay terminals. Find our Fund under "Charity" section (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 this family too! And who knows, maybe someday we ourselves will need help of strangers!

One call saves life - 0901 200 270.