Baby Gabriel does not have such basic things as heat and medications

Tea made a living room in a former public WC. One can do anything when he has nowhere to live with his three children. The taxi driver dropped them and their belongings off at night in an empty field near an abandoned building - as she asked - and hurried to leave. They can kill you and stab with a knife in such an abandoned place. And she crossed herself and stepped into this empty, dark building with baby Gabriel, five-year-old Shio, and nine-year-old Tekla. 

For three months they lived without light using a flashlight. They walked through the swamp to get into the building. Then other unfortunate people started to move in here - those who could not stand the pandemic, could not cope with the loan. My God, how many unfortunates live here! When someone talks about the economic growth in Georgia, about the high index of happiness, let him come here!

Look into the eyes of Gabriel, who has no playground, but a broken road and a yard full of rubbish and thorns. Look into the eyes of Shio and Thekla, who have not passed the face control at the local prestigious school and have to go to their former school across the entire city. Chill together with them to the bone, stiffen from the cold. Try their unsweetened tea. Drink to the bottom of their bitterness ...

If you haven’t seen it yet, look how poverty looks like in Georgia. Tea and her three children live in a former public WC!

“Don’t be afraid of dogs, - says Tekla approaching us. - They protect us”. (A stray of eight dogs has gathered near the garbage cans.) 

Tekla (12-year-old): Go away, Blacky. (Shouts to the dog.) Your clothes aren’t warm enough, you will get cold here. I can give you some clothes of mine if you don't mind. I only have secondhand clothes and I'm fine.

Tekla: We live badly, I know. But no one lives an extraordinary life in Georgia. Let no one consider himself special! Many people live in poverty. I am not embarrassed to wear rags. Mom tries the best for us, she does everything she can. She broke the tiles in the toilet with a crowbar with her own hands, to make a room for us. And she carried buckets with stones down because we had no money for workers. Then Mom started bleeding in a woman way.

“Don't be embarrassed to wear rags. There are no special people! It can happen to anyone."

Tea: I have a golden child. Tekla is my right hand. I would not cope without her help.

Tea: I was planning to rent an apartment on bail and came across a scammer. I lost ten thousand dollars. Although we did not live a single day in that apartment, we had fill of sorrow. And now I owe the bank (I took a loan), I had to pay for rent, I need to feed my children somehow. I am on a blacklist at the bank, my husband is too. We were squabbling all the time, we had scandals over money. We exhausted each other! My husband has not forgiven me for my mistake. He scolded me: "You screwed all of us!" It's my fault, I know what I did was stupid. But it is too cruel to remind that all the time. I wanted support.

Then our landlady raised the rent to 400 GEL during the pandemic, and our family came to an end. My husband went crazy when he found out about my third pregnancy. He said: “Have an abortion immediately!” You know it hurts a woman a lot to hear this.

I noticed this building a long time ago when I once was visiting Dighomi. And when I was left alone with the children in my arms I dared.

Tea starts crying when she recalls her distress

Tea: With a sick baby... (Pauses, exhales carefully.) When I talk about Gabriel, tears always come to my eyes. At first, they said he was born with asphyxia, then worse - he had a heart defect. The nurses told me "Get him baptized." A said: “Why? He is just born - I’ll do it later”. They said: “You might have no time. Just in case, be ready for anything...”(Cries) 

As soon as I got it, I started crying and roaring! And a terrible night began, the most terrible night in my life. I prayed and cried without stop: “What will happen to my Gabriel? Dear God, he won't die, will he?" Twenty-four hours turned into forty-eight. I knew where he was, and all the time I went to look at the windows of the intensive care unit. He was getting better, and the Lord was with him. At first, I asked God to turn him from a dying person into an extremely severe patient, then from an extremely severe patient, to just a stably hard one. “Come on, son, come on!” (Cries). 

“They told me: “Get him baptized and be ready for anything””

There are wonderful doctors in the Tsitsishvili hospital. God forbid everyone to need them, but they are wonderful indeed. For a month and a half, Gabriel was on life-support machine.

Gabriel is now half a year behind in development, he has sensory impairments. He doesn't talk, he only responds to my voice. If others call him, he has no reaction. He has not yet been diagnosed with autism - they still watch him... We have a lot of problems. But I am happy that he is alive. 

Gabriel was born with a heart defect. He is weak and needs help all the time

And this building... Mom can do crazy things for her kids. There were bats, broken glass all around, moldy lace on the walls. The smell was terrible, and it did not disappear fully. Do you feel it? And wind! Abnormal icy wind on all floors and in all corridors.

Tea, with her three children, was the first who went to live in this abandoned building

The building is blown through by the wind

“Ouch! It’s freezing!”

Tea: My Gabriel can’t catch a cold. He immediately gets bronchitis, and a runny nose. He is so weak, and he immediately becomes weaker. What can I do? During the pandemic, when they gave 200 lari to schoolchildren, I immediately installed these two windows at once. But behind this wall there are huge windows without glass. You can't stick your nose into the pantry. By the way, it is a former toilet too, I keep old stuff there.

It is a freezer behind the living room! You can't go out there without a jacket!

It’s dripping from the ceiling all the time. Stalkers love such neglected buildings, but children live here!

Please help us install these windows. Winter is coming, you need to keep the children warm. There is no gas. The gas company does not come to install it. But since we already live here and no one is going to kick us away yet, we need to warm ourselves and eat. I cook on a gas cylinder, and I warm water for bathing in portions on it. We use an old eclectic stove as a heater.

It’s both a stove and a water heater

Tea: It’s installed illegally, don’t make us perish! What if they come and cut it off? This is how we quietly live, so as not to catch anyone's eyes. I don't claim anything. But the children… (She presses her lips together to keep herself from crying.) 

After my construction exploits, they cut of all the female organs from me - I overstrained. I have half an ovary and half a bladder left. But I made a room for my children. We picked up building materials bit by bit from garbage cans. We are lucky that various workshops throw their waste here - a piece of linoleum,  half a pack of gypsum.

The price of this room is Tea’s health. Desigh - Shio’s and Tekla’s palms

Shio (8-year-old): I wish they threw Gabriel’s medications too, am I right, mom? I would gather a lot and he would not cry.

Tea: I wish it would be so. (grins.) Gabriel needs to take inhalations every day. One ampule with medication costs 8.5 GEL. He needs B vitamins. This month, we repaired the washing machine with our social allowance of 680 GEL. Everything we have is used. It goes out of order more often than it works. They fix it with used spare parts, so it works for couple of weeks and then waits for repair for four months.

Shio: This machine ate my cake.

Shio: Mom has already spent a lot of money for this machine. There is no money left for my birthday. You know that?

Shio: Next year? (frowns.)

Shio: Okay. And a Spider Man too.

Tea: God gave me very good and modest children. They know that I don't have money, that I can't go to work because of Gabriel, and they don't bother me. If you give second-hand clothes - they will put them on, they will eat potatoes for lunch. They do not complain. But it hurts me. (Cries).

Tea: He comes, of course. These are his children. He himself is an unhappy person - he lives in a rented apartment, has lots of debts. He did not manage to stand firmly on his feet. He can bring chocolate, sweets. I say to children: “Don't wait for gifts. Just rejoice that he came. He is your father.”

My neighbors support me a lot. Everyone who lives here is poor, everyone is beaten down by life. Everyone walked in my shoes. Everyone shares what he can: lunch, clothes. And you don’t have to pass face control here.

Tea: There is a new experimental school nearby, but they did not accept Tekla and Shio. They did not say the specific reason, but in a very disgusting manner they made us realize that we did not suit them. So the children go from Dighomi to Plekhanov.

In Gabriel’s kindergarten, teachers are also worried that he bothers the other kids. From time to time, he might make some moaning sounds. Despite my resentment, I try to say very calmly that we need this kindergarten, that it is the only way for my child to move forward. I ask not to reject him. Not to reject us. Why should be such face control between people?

***

I have a heavy heart after such stories. It hurts for children that no one wants - neither a school, nor a kindergarten, nor a gas company. Who keep on living quietly despite everything. It hurts that they do not complain and do not ask for anything. That they do not know anything better than this wretched building, secondhand clothes, and potatoes. Tekla, Shio, and Gabriel deserve to live openly! They deserve to have food and the most basic things: new clothes, medications, a proper washing machine and a refrigerator. Windows! Any of your help is important. There should be no abandoned children in Georgia.

Do you want us to introduce you to these children? Here is their address in case you decide to visit them and support the Papidze family in person: Tbilisi, Agmashenebeli Alley 12th km, former farming laboratory building.

Every time you can help someone, just do it and rejoice that God answers someone's prayers through you!

Let’s show our mercy and make them believe that miracles happen, that they can live in a warm and cozy home and have a lot of food! They believe in us. Don’t let them down! Show her what generous people live in Georgia!

We are sure that all together we will manage to give them unforgettable moments.

Please don’t forget to repost our story. Let your friends know about the grief of this family! It’s extremely important!

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: The Papidze family)

You can also transfer money from our website.

It is also possible to transfer money from 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 thousands of disadvantaged people! Let’s support this family too! And who knows, maybe someday we ourselves will need help of strangers! Life is always unpredictable!

We have good news: now you can read the stories of our beneficiaries on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chernovetskyi.fund/ and Telegram: https://t.me/ChernovetskyiFund.

Even if you dial once this special number, it might save someone's life: 0901200270! God bless you!