“Mom, don’t leave me, I am scared!”

“The same curse haunts everyone from our family - we are blind. Our eyes eventually dry out and become completely unusable. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this, and we are doomed to live in a darkness. As if we are alive, but already dead,” says 33-year-old Nika, a mountain man.

Great-grandfather of Nika had poor eyesight. Then it was inherited by his grandfather and his two daughters - Natela and Nanuli. For a long time, Natela did not dare to marry the guy who fell in love with her. She did not want to doom her unborn child to torment and life in darkness. But their love was so strong that they believed that everything would be like in a fairy tale: love could overcome the disease, and the family curse would not touch their child. But that only happens in fairy tales...

Nika was born. Unfortunately, the disease did not spare him either. They sold everything they could, borrowed from everyone they knew, and went through many eye surgeries to keep at least some vision. They managed to save only 10% of it. That helped: Nika distinguishes between dark and light objects, can move around the room, be a guide for her mother and aunt.

Soon his father died - his heart could not stand looking at the torment of his son. There were three left: mother, aunt, and son. And there is no one else around in the dark.

“There are three of us in this dark world: me, my mom and aunt”

Nika: We all take care of each other. It's hard to say for which of us it is easier to cope. I am a young guy, so I have to do everything for my mother and aunt, who raised me making so many efforts.

 I can’t even imagine what they had to go through, what hell they had to go through to put me on my feet. They even took me to school.

Nika: It was my happiest period in my life. My school is not far from here, and my classmates came in the morning and lead me to school by the hand and then brought me home after school. How nice it was! I thought I had real friends! But how wrong I was ...  When school ended - our friendship ended too. No one contacted me anymore after that. I was left alone with my ailments.

Nika: Oh, I thought about it many times, I dreamed a lot. I wanted to be a singer, I wanted to perform on stage. But no one needs disabled people in our country. They shy away from us like we’re lepers. They don't want to communicate with us. It's not our fault that we don't see... 

Nika: I am shy, I sing only for my mother and aunt, and sometimes for my neighbors. I'm afraid I'll be laughed at. I'm afraid that they will criticize me. But I'll sing for you.

(Nika turned on the soundtrack and sang Temur Tatarashvili's song about Georgia. This was the most emotional song I have ever heard.)

"I'm a monster on the outside, but a child at heart"

Nika: Don't cry, I know that my appearance and my inner state are very different. I'm scary on the outside, but I'm still a child at heart. But you can't explain it to everyone. When I say that we are starving, people start laughing, they say that I look like a person who wouldn't be satisfied with eating a whole cow at a time. But do they know why I weigh 200 kilos? Do they know what happened? You can't explain it to everyone, and not everyone would understand.

Nika: I have hormonal problems because I eat only bread and pasta. I have been suffering from depression for 10 years. When a young guy has no money to buy clothes, when he cannot buy medications for his mother and aunt, when his teeth begin to fall out, and he cannot even go to the doctor, how can he stay sane? In 2017, I lost consciousness, I collapsed and hit my head. I hardly came to senses. I don’t know how my mother and aunt managed to nurse me back to health. These are not women but my guardian angels. I keep saying that the Mother of God is standing next to them. They would not have been able to do it without her help.

“Behind every mother stands a Mother of God who helps to raise children with disabilities”

Nika: My eyes cannot be cured, my vision cannot be restored, but there are drops that can support them. They are very expensive, so we cannot afford them. Our income is our pensions and allowance (60 GEL). My pension is 140 GEL.

Nika: You know, I thought about it and made some calculations. Probably, 500 lari would be enough for me to live like a human. It's not very much, is it?

Nika:  I would get a denture made, I would buy food and medications. If there was something left, I would buy clothes of my size. I'm so embarrassed to walk like this. That's why I don't leave my home at all. I would also save up and equip our bathroom. It is hard for my old mother and aunt to bathe in basins, and it is hard for me too. I also have a dream. If you don't laugh, I'll tell you a secret.

“I dream that there was a bathroom, and I didn’t have to splash around in the room”

Nika: There is such a microphone with speakers and a telephone with the Internet to turn on the soundtracks. It would brighten the evenings to my mother and aunt. What else is left for us to do? We live in darkness and do not see anything - but at least we will not stay in deathly silence. I don't know, maybe this is a very stupid dream, the dream of not a 33-year-old guy, but I know that you will not laugh.

Nika: I'm crying for joy now! You have no idea how important this is to me right now. Words of approval heal better than any medication!

Nika: If I had had people like you and the employees of your Fund earlier, it would probably be much easier to endure all the difficulties!

Nika: That everyone left me after school. That I never celebrated my birthday. Nobody congratulated me even once. No one has ever given me anything. As an adult, I cried and said to myself: “Maybe you don’t exist, Nika? Maybe you just don't exist, and this is just a nightmare? Or maybe you shouldn't have been born at all? Why did I deserve such torment? That's it. Thanks for asking.

Nika: I am the second group disabled. My pension is 140 GEL. They do not give me the status of the first group disabled person. I wonder, why? Everyone knows that my sight will never come back. Why are they doing that? I know why: if they give me the first group disabled status, they will have to raise my pension to 275 GEL. This amount is simply vital for me.

***

Friends, we are sure that you are the ones who do not judge a book by its cover. You are the ones who have opened their hearts to God and can feel the pain of others. We find such unfortunate people for you - because by going together through their suffering, we get closer to the Creator!

Nika and his family need food, beds, a bathroom, and clothes. And young Nick needs to visit the dentist. We know this is not a vital necessity, but Nika really asked for a microphone with speakers. Can we make this dream come true?

If anyone is willing to visit and help them in person, here is their address: Gurjaani Municipality, village Bakurtsikhe.

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

We are sure that all together we will manage to save them from imminent death.

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: Nika Gulashvili)

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 for you - 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!