– Naira, tell me what happened to you, and how did you end up in this slum all alone with six children?
– My alcoholic husband kicked me out of the house a year ago. He forced me leave without the children, alone… Do you think he needed them? He just wanted to receive social allowance for them and buy alcohol with the money, as he always did… I am grateful to the kind people who helped me hire a lawyer and with the help of law enforcement agencies I got my children back! I pray to God for them every day!
Since then, my children and I have wandered from apartment to apartment, and now we rent this old crumbling house in Khelvachauri – a suburb of Batumi. Its only plus is a yard where children can run around… The state of everything else you can see for yourself… The house is full of cracks, in winter only the kitchen is heated as there is a wood-burning stove, and the rooms on the second floor are so cold that they can be used as a refrigerator…
– Naira, what can we do for you, what do you need most?
– We need the most basic necessities: food, clothing, basic household items such as beds, blankets and pillows… We will be happy to receive anything! Look what my children are sleeping on: I found foam rubber in the yard and put bricks under it… This is the children’s bed…
– What do you do for living?
– We receive social allowance and state allowance for mothers of many children. This is only enough to pay for rental housing, utility costs and the most necessary products. I have six children and they need so many things, they are malnourished and walk in rags…
All appliances and furniture in the house belong to the owner of the house. Only the washing machine and an old TV without a remote control are mine – people gave them to us. The owner will take away the refrigerator soon. He said he needed the refrigerator himself…
I can’t work yet – I have no one to leave my younger children with, so I only hope for God and for you!
– Do parents or relatives help you?
– We don’t have anyone to help us at all. My mother left me when I was little… She went away leaving my disabled father with three children: me, my brother and sister… My father, as I have already said, is disabled; he lives in the village having just one allowance and needs help himself…
– Have you addressed the authorities for help?
– Once I left my husband and took my children away, I knocked on all the doors and asked to help a single mother with many children with housing… I wish I hadn’t! The only thing that the social worker could offer me was to temporarily take the children to a foster house! I can’t think of it without a shudder! Yes, God is their judge!
I believe that the Lord is merciful and will not leave me and my children! He will send me good people, and with their help I will somehow feed my little angels, as long as they are near me.
– Naira, introduce us to your children.
– I have six of them: three girls and three boys. The eldest is Lisa, who is 12 years old. Then Marat was born– now he is 11, Mariam is 7, Shota is 6, Andria is 3 and our youngest one is two-year-old Barbare.
Lisa, Marat and Mariam go to school, they are diligent and smart children. Shota is just getting ready for school – in September he will go to the first grade.
– Tell us about each of them in more details.
– Lisa gives me great expectations! She’s smart and beautiful, but very modest… She learns well, especially she likes to study English.
Marat is very capable, but lazy. He’s a self-reserved boy, not as emotional as his elder sister. She loves to draw, and his favorite subject is math. He hasn’t decided on his profession yet, either he wants to be a sailor or play Rugby.
Mariam is also a smart and beautiful girl, she loves the Georgian language and wants to become a teacher…
And Shota can’t wait to go to school with her older sisters and brother. He’s a real fidget – he doesn’t sit in one place for a second.
The youngest Andria and Barbare are still at home. They are mother’s tails, they always walk after me as if they are glued (laughs)
My children are very friendly and like to play together. However, at times they quarrel a little over cartoons…
– Naira, how do you imagine their future?
– In my dreams, I see them as happy and successful people. I really want them to learn, get a profession and never tremble over every penny, as I do now… I want them always stay together, never lose each other and I also would like that in old age they do not leave me alone…
– What supports you in this situation?
– Only my faith in God has kept me alive to this day… Faith in the Lord and my children is all I have and gives me strength…
– Can you tell us about your husband, how did you meet and started a family?
– To be honest, I don’t want to recall it… My ex-husband is an alcoholic. As soon as he drinks, he turns into a beast… But we were married for love, I thought that he was a real Prince and would save me from all adversity… But immediately after the wedding my husband showed his real face… He turned out to be an alcoholic, a loafer, a sadist: he insulted and severely beat me and the children…
This was not how I imagined my future… I really wanted to study… My husband promised to support me in this, but it turned out to be a lie…
– Let me talk to the kids now. Are you friends with each other?
Lisa (12 years old): Yes, we are very friendly. We almost never fight. Though already big, I like to play with my younger brothers and sisters, hide-and-seek and game of tags. We don’t have a lot of toys, we play with a ball more.
– Do you help your mother?
Lisa (12 years old) – my mother has a lot to do around the house, she is on her feet all day long. I try to help her, keep the kids busy so they don’t get in the way. Sometimes I do the dishes and sweep the house.
– And what do you like most of all?
Lisa (12 years old): I like drawing and dancing. Georgian dances are so beautiful, the girls’ costumes are so beautiful… Most of my friends attend dancing classes and I want too, but my mom doesn’t have the money to take me to a dancing course…
I also love to read… My friend Anna has a lot of books. Harry Potter is my favorite one. It is very interesting to read about the little wizards from Hogwarts School…
– And how do you study at school, what subjects do you like the most?
Lisa (12 years old): I am a very good pupil. My mother keeps telling me that this is my ticket to a happy future… And I believe her. Mom knows everything, she’s the best. I love both the Georgian language and history, but most of all – English! Now everyone needs to know English to find a good job.
– Have you already chosen your future profession?
Lisa (12 years old): I dream of becoming a journalist, they are all so beautiful. I think it is so interesting to make interviews and reports on various topics. But to do this, you need to study a lot and be very smart. My mother tells me that I am smart, and I can achieve all my goals.
– Tell me, what are you dreaming of?
Lisa (12 years old): I dream of becoming a journalist, they are all so beautiful. I’m behind on the school curriculum, I have to run to the neighbors and find out the tasks… In the Internet, in addition to studying, you can do everything, watch movies, cartoons, books, and read whatever you want.
– Do you have a best friend?
Lisa (12 years old): My best friend is my classmate Anna. We both love to read. But her parents can afford buying books, and my mother has no money… Anna is always happy to lend me books, and we often keep secrets with her. She won’t tell anyone, I can trust her.
– Are you friends with boys?
Lisa (12 years old): I’m more friends with girls, boys always fight and make noise.
– Do they insult you?
Lisa (12 years old): No, why? They fight with each other and play their own games.
– Have you ever thought about your future family? How many children will you have?
Lisa (12 years old): I will have many, many children. It’s fun when there are a lot of children. You see, there are six of us, and we all love each other.
– What will your husband be like?
Lisa (12 years old): My husband will never drink, fight or hurt our children!
– Marat, how do you study? Do you like to go to school?
Marat (11 years old): Yes, school is great! My friends are there… And now we have to sit at home and play only with each other. And I like to do my home-task and I study well. But now it doesn’t work – we don’t have a computer and so I can’t study…
– Have you already decided what you will become when you grow up?
Marat (11 years old): I’ll be a sailor or play Rugby. All sailors are brave and strong. And the Rugby players too. I will also be the strongest.
– You have a lot of drawings. Do you like to draw?
Marat (11 years old): Yes, Lisa and I draw very well. We are good at drawing everything: houses, people and even the sea and waves.
– You said you might become a sailor, so you love the sea?
Marat (11 years old): I haven’t really decided yet, maybe I’ll be a Rugby player … And I really love the sea. In the summer, we often go to swim with my mother. When I walk on the beach, I imagine that I am already a sailor and sail to different countries…
– Marat, you are already a big boy, are you helping your mother?
Marat (11 years old): Certainly I do! I’m the oldest man in the house! Sometimes I bring firewood for the stove, sometimes I help to carry heavy bags, and sometimes I rock Barbare in my arms.
– Do you play with your brothers and sisters? What is your favorite toy?
Marat (11 years old): My favorite toy is my robot Robo. I named it like a robot from a movie. You know, there’s a movie where a boy and a robot become friends? Mine doesn’t look much like the one in the movie, and it’s old, but I still love it.
An impatient six-year-old Shota broke in:
Shota (6 years old): I also really like Marat’s robot, but he doesn’t give it to me… Sometimes he just lets me play a little bit, and I also want a robot… my own one.
– So let me talk to you. Do you want to go to school?
Shota (6 years old): Yes, I dream of going to school as soon as possible, I will have a lot of books and notebooks, like Marat, Lisa and Mariam. Imagine, we will all go to school together.
– What do you want to become?
Shota (6 years old): I will be a police officer, I will protect everyone…
– What would you like to receive as a gift?
Shota (6 years old): I want a car, a big one, to sit in it and ride… and you will give Marat a bicycle – he has been dreaming it for a long time. And he will give me a ride. Really, Marat?
Marat (11 years old): Certainly I will! I really want a two-wheeler! My mother can’t buy it for me, and the neighborhood boys rarely let me ride theirs…
Mariam (7 years old): Aunt, you forgot me! I want gifts too! I already have a Masha doll, but it’s already old, so I want more! I would like to have a doll as big as a real girl, as tall as I am, and in a pretty dress. I saw it in a shop window… I’ll call her Lisa. And I want beautiful dresses and shoes like a princess has!
– Do you want to be like a princess?
Mariam (7 years old): I’m already a princess, but I don’t have a dress… You know, when I grow up, a prince will come for me on a horse and take me to his palace.
– And who makes such beautiful braids for you, princess?
Mariam (7 years old): Lisa always braids my hair. Beautiful, isn’t it? And Barbare still doesn’t get pigtails, her hair is too short yet. Then I’ll braid it for her too.
– Mari, can you draw?
Mariam (7 years old): Yes, a little. I don’t do it as well as Lisa, but I will learn for sure.
– What would you like to be when you grow up, other than a princess?
Mariam (7 years old): I don’t know yet… I want to be like my sister, Lisa. At school, I like the Georgian lessons. Maybe I’ll become a teacher…
– Guys, what do you think, what would Andria and Barbare like to have as a present?
Mariam (7 years old): Andria loves his blue car the most, so he will probably be happy with the new cars. And Barbare always asks for dolls, from me and from the neighborhood girls, and also candies. We all love candies and chewing gum, but my mother rarely gives us one of them…
Andria and Barbare also like to cuddle with soft toys…
– Children, does your mother find time to tell you a story or sing a song? Who is your favorite character?
Shota (6 years old): I love the fairy tale about Natsarkekiya (Georgian folk tale), everyone thinks he is lazy, but he turned out to be soooo smart, he outsmarted Deva and won him.
Mariam (7 years old): I love it when my mother reads about Snow White and the dwarfs. Snow White is the most beautiful and kind princess, my mother says that I look like her. Andria and Barbare always listen when mom reads, too.
Marat (11 years old): I’m already big, I don’t like fairy tales. But when my mother sings a lullaby to the kids, I love to listen. She has such a beautiful voice…
– Your mother must be very kind.
Lisa (12 years old): Our mother is the best, I saw her cry quietly when she couldn’t buy me a tablet for my studies. I don’t want her to cry!
Marat (11 years old): Yes, my mother cries and gets upset when something needs to be bought, but there is no money.
Shota (6 years old): My mother is the kindest and the most beautiful person in the world.
Mariam (5 years old): Yes, our mother is a princess, kind and beautiful.
– What would you wish other Georgian children?
Marat (11 years old): I wish everyone to be happy and joyful. I wish their dads do not beat them…. And that they all have bicycles, toys, candies, and everything they want.
– I’m sure you will have all this too! Let me talk to your mother now. Naira, do you believe that outsiders will help you when they find out about your need?
Naira– No matter what, I believe! After all, I met complete strangers on the way and at the most difficult moment for me, they gave me a helping hand!
– Naira, what are in your opinion the things you need at home in the first place?
– As you can see, we don’t have anything of our own. At the moment, we really need beds for children, at least one computer, so that children do not fall behind in the school curriculum.
We need a refrigerator, a TV, and a gas stove… Children need clothes, shoes, food, for the youngest – Barbare – needs diapers…
– Nairs, why did you decide to contact us?
– I saw the video on Facebook, and went to your page. I was amazed at how many destitute people you help. So I decided to write. If it weren’t for the children who are deprived of everything, I would never have bothered you.
– Do you want to meet friends of the Fund? Do you want to find new friends?
Naira: You and the friends of your Fund are my last hope. I will be glad of any help, any support, even if only verbal.
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Friends, as you can see, the large family is in extreme need. The family is in need of food, diapers, clothes, beds, bed linen and household appliances! Let’s support them, show mercy, give the children a chance to develop normally and have a happy childhood. You can personally visit this family and provide assistance. The children and their parents will be merely happy! Call Naira, find out about her needs, cheer her up, support her, tell her that she is not alone and that nobody will leave them alone in their trouble! It is very important.
Here is their address: Khelvachauri, Batumi, 10 Kveda Salibauri str., tel.: 557 441 860
Dear friends, Chernovetskyi Fund initiates a charitable action: to help Naira Khmaladze and her children. As you know, the Fund does not stop at one-time assistance. Without children, the country and people have no future. Take care of the younger generation! Help them survive! “Write them down” as your relatives. And we are sure that the Lord himself will bless you.
And be sure to repost our publication. Let all your friends know about the grief of this family! It is very important.
God gives us the opportunity to take care of people who are not able to do it themselves. Not all people are the same. And not everyone is as kind as we are. Please, do not pass aside the sorrow of others! Unhappy people are given to us from above so that we can prove our faith to the Almighty not in words but in deeds!
Friends, there is one more request, if you know about the misfortune of a neighbor or friend, do a Charitable deed, write to us by e-mail: office-fsp@fsp.ge
Our Fund account GE15TB7194336080100003, GE42LB0115113036665000 or GE64BG0000000470458000 (purpose: Naira Khmaladze). You can also transfer money from our website.
You can as well transfer money from the terminals of OPPA, TBCpay and ExpressPay. Find our Fund in “Charity” section. (You can learn about the additional rights and obligations of the Fund by following the link https://goo.gl/GY2Gus).
Just 1 call can save someone’s life 0901 200 270
Let’s think that by helping others, we take care of our own souls and draw closer to the Lord through the very sufferings that we experience for others!