Monique is a 33-year-old asylum seeker from Côte d'Ivoire. 3 years ago, due to domestic violence, pregnant Monique was forced to leave her homeland and found a safe place in Georgia.
Monique's homeland Côte d'Ivoire is a country in West Africa, where 26% of women are victims of domestic violence. From the first day of arrival, Monique was accommodated in the Martkopi Reception Center for asylum seekers. Due to conditions at the reception centre not fully suitable for pregnant women, Monique was referred to Mother&Infant Shelter located in Tbilisi and run by NGO Anti-Violence Network of Georgia. In addition to temporary accommodation, shelter beneficiaries are provided with food, medical care, clothing, and other types of assistance. The shelter is a short-term living opportunity for mothers with children. After one year, some of them return to their families, while others continue to live on their own. The shelter receives beneficiaries from Georgia as well as Asylum Seekers, refugees and stateless persons from different countries like India, Iran, and other. Currently, Monique is the only foreigner living in the shelter for more than a year, as she is a single mother raising two boys by herself with limited financial resources.
The Shelter continued to assist Monique in the process of socialisation through teaching her Georgian, and employing her as a cook assistant in the kitchen. At the same time Monique’s children have been enrolled in World Vision Georgia’s Day Care Centre for Infants/toddlers, and later our organisation assisted them in the registration at the public kindergarten.
Monique is quite friendly with other beneficiaries of the shelter and does not have difficulty in socialising, though Georgian is still a barrier for her. She is currently working to expand her professional vocabulary in order to advance her career. At the initial stage, she suffered psycho-emotional challenges which were positively managed through regular psychosocial support provided by World Vision Georgia.
"There are good people in Georgia. I did not know anyone from here, but I knew about Georgia before. I like Georgia very much and I want to live here in the future. I feel happy and safe here, " - says Monique.
Monique spends her spare time with her children, helping them in reading and studying. Monique has children in Côte d'Ivoire as well and keeps in touch despite long distance.
Monique always wanted to become a hairstylist. She believes that through skills development in this field she can earn her daily bread. With this in mind, she decided to study hard and was enrolled in the employment program offered by World Vision Georgia Project, Community Mobilisation and Participation financially supported by UNHCR.
Within the framework of this project World Vision Georgia works with refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless persons in Georgia since 2019 to protect their rights and contribute to their integration into society through various services and activities.
Within the joint initiative of World Vision and Anti-Violence Network of Georgia, Monique was trained as a hairstylist. At the beginning, Monique received theory teaching and then she went through a one-month intensive practical course in the beauty salon. She says she handled it quite well and has already attracted new customers. Monique is very fond of her new profession, and she is very satisfied with the course making plans for the future.
After successful completion of the course, World Vision Georgia provided Monique with the professional equipment necessary to start her new job and earn a living. The teacher's excellent recommendation, her high motivation, and the provided inventory is precondition for her successful work.
"I tried hard to study well and I want to open my own salon in the future. I know my job well – hair dying, cutting, shaving, making braids. I want to share my knowledge and experience to other women who strive for self development and need support," - says Monique.
