„The year 2022 was a difficult, tense and anxious year for the world. Against this backdrop, support for the Qedeli community is invaluable. We are very grateful to the Friends of Waldorf Education and all the people, foundations and organizations who stood by us during this difficult time. As in many other places, the sharp drop in the exchange rate and inflation were among the major challenges in Georgia last year. Unfortunately, state aid was increased by only eight percent.

Thanks to the support of the Friends, we were to stabilize the salaries of our employees and able thus stop the process of exodus of people. This was because some had to leave us to work where they could earn enough to support themselves and their families.

After the pandemic, we were able to resume some cultural activities. Thus, our residents were able to perform several concerts in Tbilisi, Sighnaghi and neighbouring communities. These concerts are very popular and they help us to raise awareness and sensitize members of the public to people with disabilities.

We organized a photographic exhibition in four communities, where we have also had the opportunity to organize the sale of our residents' works and increase our income. The income from our small farm has also increased a little. Our residents are involved in all activities and we are very happy to see how they grow and overcome different challenges.

We also helped the community of Sighnaghi to develop a strategy and a 3-year action plan for the issues of people with disabilities. Our residents were also involved as experts in the development of the action plan. In our organization, we trained city hall staff and invited decision makers to Qedeli so they could get to know people with disabilities better and hear from them about the issues they face here in Georgia.“