Georgia’s public donate books to enrich lives of village students

Students in the mountainous Svaneti region will soon enjoy a new collection of interesting books thanks to the generosity of the people of Georgia.

Thousands of books were collected around the country at special drop-off areas that would be gifted to students in the alpine region as part of the Books for Every Village project.

This morning special buses departed capital Tbilisi, bound for Svaneti, to pass on the donated books. Officials noted up to 17 school libraries in Svaneti will be equipped with new books because of this initiative.

The Books for Every Village project, which launchedon July 25, has already made a difference in some schools in Racha – a highland area in western Georgia that’s bordered by the Caucasus Mountains. The project supplied about 10 libraries in Racha with 2,000 books.

The project was supported jointly by local non-governmental organisations, Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia, the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs of Georgia, the Davitiani organisation, Students Unity organisation, Palitra L book publisher, the Georgian National Library and the Charity Society.

During summer special collection boxes were stationed at highly visited places around Tbilisi where people donated books for students living in Georgia’s villages.

The Wissol Group, one of the largest business groups in Georgia with chains of petrol and CNG stations all over the country, was actively involved in the project. The company allowed project organisers to place boxes at several petrol stations, at Smart supermarkets and at various Wendy’s and Dunkin’ Donuts fast food outlets.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, the Kashveti Church of St. George and the Didube Virgin Mary Church opened their doors to the initiative and parishioners willingly contributed to the cause.

Looking ahead program organisers planned to visit Imereti, Kakheti, Mtskheta-Tianeti and Adjara with a goal to enrich school libraries with captivating literature.