66 IDP families who fled Abkhazia gifted new homes

Families who were forced to flee their homes during armed conflict in Abkhazia and relocate to another region of Georgia are being offered new homes.

The Government of Georgia announced all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in Akhaltsike, in the southern part of Georgia, will soon be gifted new homes for the symbolic price one GEL.

This offer was open to 66 IDP families. The Government said these people were forced to abandon their homes in now occupied Abkhazia and were forced to live in collective centres in Akhalkalaki, which were of poor condition.

The new living facilities would be fitted out to suit people with disabilities.

Meanwhile in Tbilisi,191 IDP families will soon receive housing in the same initiative and a further 258 families will be offered housing in other parts of the country.

The Government-led rehousing project launched on November 1, 2014 and will continue for 10 months.

A 2013 United Nations survey revealed many IDP collective centres did not meet adequate living standards. To get IDPs into adequate housing, the Georgian Government purchased more than 1,500 houses. These will soon be gifted to eligible families in Georgia’s regional areas.

According to the United Nations Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) there were up to 206,600 IDPs registered by in Georgia at the end of 2013.

About 45 percent of IDP’s lived in collective centres. Of this, the majority of housing (70 percent) did not meet minimum shelter standards, lack adequate privacy, lack access to water, proper insulation and functional sewage systems, stated the Gap analysis of the UN Refugee Agency.