In 2017, 64-year-old Tiniko had a cancerous tumor removed from her bladder, but no money was left for follow-up checkups or tests for the poor woman! Instead, they gave her construction materials so she wouldn’t die early under the ruins of her house—a house worse and more terrifying than anything we’ve seen in all our years of work! Oh, and they gave her 50 lari a month to live on! Just look at this crooked shack, standing on rotten beams. Now imagine, for a second, this elderly woman being tasked with rebuilding her house. Such care, right? Oh Lord, Lord, don’t judge harshly those who do not know you! Read this post to the end, and feel this tragedy with your heart, kind people!

This is 84-year-old Tamila Gagua. Her life is so tragic that even the Holy Mother might shed bitter tears… The story I’m about to tell will make your blood run cold. A tragedy that will be remembered for centuries. It all began many years ago, on a snowy winter day, when a lonely, widowed old woman in the village of Chognari was visited by her only son from Kaliningrad (where he was serving in the army). Her son got married there. Grandmother Tamila welcomed her daughter-in-law as her own daughter. But the most important part is yet to come. When Grandma Tamila saw her son holding a one-year-old boy with big eyes, she immediately knew it was her grandson, and she almost lost her mind with happiness. But her joy turned out to be premature. The boy was underdeveloped, he could not walk.

“Sikoria deda,” Ketevan repeats and cries again. Then she obediently allows Matsatso to take care of her. She eats soup from a spoon and listens to the praise of how good a girl she is. Matsatso changes her diaper and takes her for a little ride in a wheelchair around the yard. And the tears keep flowing. Her right arm is immobile, and her right leg is too. Her tongue is unresponsive and sluggish. Her eyes see nothing… This is what the stroke did to Ketevan. No, this is what a state can do to a person. Look at the helpless Ketevan and be careful! This is the high price one can pay for trying to get help from the state.

Both in appearance and spirit, Zurab and Galina resemble gentle and innocent blind children navigating through a dense forest teeming with wild and bloodthirsty beasts! And there’s not a single strong and kind hero around to protect them! “It’s very, very hard to live when everyone wants to deceive you,” says Zurab, who endured two years of deceitful treatments from fraudulent doctors, promising to restore his sight while the nerve in his eye had long since perished. The doctors drained the last pennies from the family! Oh, if only we could find them and look into their “rotten” eyes… Some “beasts” are suing them to take away their apartment, while others are waiting for their death from hunger and cold, because then they will be able to seize the apartment completely for free! That’s why the latter have deprived them of any social protection: the elderly receive mere pennies of social assistance and are inquired…

Mother Elena: Forgive me for bothering you and asking so much, but isn’t this a shared cause of ours. I won’t hide it—I’m relying on you again… (Smiles) We’re always in need of medications, diapers, wet wipes, and cleaning supplies for the bath and toilet. To care for our three bedridden residents, I use a special cleansing foam. Maybe someone would like to donate a piano to the shelter? It doesn’t have to be new, just in good working condition. Our grandmothers need more joy—this would truly entertain them. And who knows, maybe someone would even give a little concert, like the students from the Georgian-German School “Skhivi.” Oh, what a wonderful day that was! I’ve also been thinking of enclosing the area where our residents sit during the day, to shield them from rain and wind. Metal-plastic would be best. I’m seeking help with this as well. The “Lazaret” shelter regularly needs medications, diapers, hygiene items, and cleaning supplies. Visiting the grandmothers in person is a lovely idea! This day will bring them so much joy and become a lasting memory!

“I feel neither good, nor bad. I feel nothing. My only son and husband lie motionless in the cold earth of the cemetery… and here I am within these four walls,” whispers Grandma Lamara barely audibly, wiping her dry eyes. Not a single tear has been left in 17 years – she’s cried it all out. She cries, crying from within, shrouded in darkness. She wants to die, to be near those she has lost, but death seems to avoid her, and condemns her to endless torment.