Ketevan Mchedlishvili, an inclusive education specialist from Tbilisi, joined the Civic Leadership Program in 2018. Previously she had been working with children with special needs in schools for five years. Currently she works closely with Wolfram Syndrome – Georgia, an organisation focusing on needs of people with multiple disabilities. Ketevan, together with the founder of the organisation Matsatso Khachapuridze, works hard to raise awareness on the importance of social inclusion.
Keti says that the utmost need of persons with disabilities is to be recognised as full members of the society and to have environment conducive to the actualisation of their capacities: “what we should try to see in any individual is their potential and talent, and do everything to help them develop so that these people are fully integrated in the society,” says Keti. However, Georgian reality offers little for the integration because of stereotypes, a low level of awareness and the dire lack of relevant services. Keti says persons with disabilities are rarely given an opportunity to demonstrate their talent, receive education or spend their leisure in an inclusive and friendly environment, while a tendency to isolate people with special needs from the wider public remains strong. This is the very attitude that Keti and her friends aspire to change by organising inclusive outreach campaigns in Georgia’s regions, providing trainings in issues related to social inclusion, working with teachers, children and adults with disabilities, and their family members.
Keti says that the knowledge she received through her participation in the Civic Leadership Program has proved to be particularly useful in this process. Leadership and Project Management components seem to be especially helpful: “This knowledge comes handy in my work. I know where to start and how to proceed. The Program had beefed up my confidence and built a team from the participants”, says Keti.
Right after the completion of the Civic Leadership Program Keti started partnering with other participants of the Program. This partnership has resulted in a meeting around children’s social inclusion held in a summer camp organised by Ray of Hope non-profit in Gori municipality. Currently Keti continues to work on promoting social inclusion in various regions of Georgia and hopes to mobilise support for her cause from the state and the wider public.