“Youth Bank taught me that there is nothing impossible in this world. We had been devastated and depressed after the war. Now I am different: Youth Bank trusted us to design and run a project ourselves, allowing us to address an issue of direct importance to us.” Zurab Mdzinarishvili, 16, student of Gori Public School.
“We have planted 412 trees in memory of the 412 people killed during the Georgia-Russia war in August 2008,” says Zurab Mdzinarishvili, 16, leader of a youth initiative group from Gori. Zurab and his friends received funding for the project from the Gori Youth Bank, established by Eurasia Partnership Foundation (funded by USAID through the Eurasia Foundation) in 2009.
The Youth Bank project is designed to increase opportunities for young people aged 16-21 to volunteer in their communities and promote a culture of civic activism. Participants learn how to manage a small pool of grant money, overseeing the distribution of these funds to support small-scale development projects led by other youth in their communities.
The seven member grantmaking committee of Gori Youth Bank conducted a needs assessment among other youth in Shida Kartli communities and released a request for proposals based on the identified priority areas. In response, the Youth Bank received 19 applications from youth initiative groups. The Youth Bank members selected four winners to address the communities’ problems with environmental pollution, unhealthy lifestyles among youth, and the low quality of youth education.
Zurab’s youth-led initiative, one of the four funded, brought together 24 young volunteers to plant trees in the IDP community of Verkhvebi near Gori. Another 18 residents of Verkhvebi have volunteered to water the trees on a continuous basis.
The project results are two tiered: through the process, Youth Bank members gain practical experience in awarding funds in a fair, transparent, and accountable manner. At the same time, the youth initiative groups that apply for funding to the Youth Bank are able to design and implement their own community development projects. This design ensures dedication to the process and ownership of the outcomes at the community level.
“There are many projects implemented for young people in Gori,” says Zurab. “But Youth Bank is different because young people are trusted to design and implement the project themselves. Most importantly EPF trusts us to spend the money, and this empowers us a lot.”
Funding youth-led micro projects increases the Youth Bank members’ confidence and capacity to act as viable agents for community change. It also opens up opportunities for youth from rural areas of Georgia to become involved in community projects locally, fostering a spirit of volunteerism and community engagement. These initial positive experiences lay the groundwork for future civic action.
The winners of the 2010 competition for small grants
Grant Competition: Open Door
The winners of the grant 2010 Grant Competition
Job Opening: Program Manager for Project Strengthening the Media’s Role as a Watchdog Institution
