In pictures: how Georgian children see future of country

Clean air in Georgian cities, well-developed streets and green habitat for people — these are some of the themes that can be found in a new calendar featuring drawings by young students of an elementary school in the country.

The 2019 calendar, produced by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), brings together creations by fourth and fifth graders of Tbilisi’s No. 156 Public School, located in the Orkhevi Settlement.

They were asked to draw their visions of “future development in Georgia”, the organisation said in its summary of the project that saw participation of over 150 pupils from the school.

Nikoloz Revazishvili drew this picture to illustrate his image of ‘beautifully arranged streets’. Image: ADB.

The works show colourful depictions including scenes of Tbilisi along with wishes of bicycle lanes instead of polluted air in the city.

My painting’s name is 'do not pollute'. I have also painted constructed roads, roads without traffic and clean environment," the school’s pupil Nini Karasashvili noted in her work.

Other submissions feature imaginations of uninterrupted water supply to all villages across the country, and residential houses immersed in greenery.

Mari Lortkipanidze, a fifth grader at the school, created this image of a house in ‘a peaceful environment with fresh air and plants’. Image: ADB.

Subject of my drawing is how water is supplied to us. I want all villages in Georgia to have uninterrupted water,” fourth grader Nikoloz Revazishvili wrote for one of his drawings.

The themes for the elementary school’s students are related to topics of ADB’s partnership with the Georgian government, on subjects including public infrastructure, transportation and safety.

The calendar pairs the children’s wishes with information on relevant projects by the organisation that have resulted in improved conditions for Georgian citizens.

'I want BRT lanes so that buses can drive fast', Mariam Kuchava said of her work, also adding she wanted 'a lot of playgrounds' in cities. Image: ADB.

The ADB has worked in Georgia in support of the country’s development since 2007 and is one of Georgia’s largest development partners.

These include urban mobility, road improvement in countryside, coastal road safety and development of recreational space.

ADB’s cumulative approvals for Georgia have exceeded 2.8 billion USD since the organisation began working with the government.