NRC ACTIVITIES - PANKISI PROJECT
 

NRC Involvement in the Gorge

Since 2000 NRC has been present in the Pankisi Gorge providing assistance to the Chechen refugees and the local population.

 

The beneficiaries of the Pankisi Project are the refugees and the local population living in the Gorge.

UNHCR is the main donor of NRC’s Pankisi Project. Other donors, such as the Norwegian Embassy, US Embassy, Polish Embassy and the Statoil Hydro also contribute to the project providing funds for various educational or vocational activities.

 About 1000 refugees and locals annually benefit from the overall project.

Current Projects

NRC contributes to the durable solution for Chechen refugees through the process of local integration strengthening their self-reliance. Special emphases are put on mobilizing women’s involvement in the delivery of various community services.

In 2008, NRC continues to support the Chechen refugees and the local population of the Pankisi Gorge through the activities focused on improved education and livelihoods as well as information and legal counselling.

NRC provides the following services both to the local and the refugee population:

  • Basic schooling covering the pre-school, school and informal education programs (kindergartens, schools and preparatory courses) to protect and ensure refugees’ equal rights and access to adequate basic and higher education by means of advocacy with the education authorities to undertake the responsibility and integrate those programs into the present state education system;
  • Livelihood opportunities through small income generation grants and vocational trainings to mobilize refugees’ resources to have improved access to job opportunities, to make some income and to ensure further self-reliance of their projects;
  • Gender mainstreaming opening women clubs to empower and strengthen their capacities and self-reliance in order to prevent and response SGBV among the Chechen refugees;
  • Legal counseling and information dissemination providing regular individual and field counseling to the refugees concerned and delivery of the Russian and Georgian press to the gorge.

Basic Facts about the Pankisi Gorge

Currently, approximately 1200 Chechen refugees reside in collective centers and private accommodations in the Pankisi Gorge. The number of the local population is approximately 8000. The local population in the Pankisi Gorge consists mainly of the Kisti and Ossetian minorities and the Georgian population. In fact, the Kisti minority represents the majority in the Gorge (around 70%).