Our Home on the Web

Caucasus Children's Relief Fund (CCRFund) was begun in order to help orphans and other disadvantaged children in the Caucasus region of the world. Our first project was assistance to the Dzegvi Children's Home complex not far from the city of Tbilisi, the capital of the nation of Georgia. The Dzegvi complex consists of a main orphanage with about 65 kids, a satellite home with 10 more children in the nearby village of Kasani and 15 more young adults in several transitional living homes in Bediani village, further away.

By supporting Dzegvi Orphanage, CCRFund also helps support a free soup kitchen in Tbilisi which is run by the Dzegvi staff. After Seth Mydans’ NY Times article in January, 2004, we were contacted by the US embassy in Tbilisi and asked if we would handle the donations and inquiries that were generated by the article. Of course we would. That was the beginning of our relationship with the children and staff at the Telavi Children’s home in Telavi, Georgia.

We're an American charity with headquarters in the small town of Cottage Grove, Oregon. It is the dream of a few Georgian and American friends who realized that, working together, they could make a difference in the lives of some needy children.

Corporate Donors Listing Added:
Please take a look at the newly added lising of our Corporate Benefactos. We're so grateful for what they've given to the children.

Special Note:
We've had a number of inquiries about donations and most of those questions we've attempted to answer discreetly on our "Contact or Donate" link. There have been a number of people who've asked if we accept gifts via PayPal and so we've now made that available.

For those of you who have responded so graciously, please accept our thanks in behalf of the children of Telavi.

Sincerely,
Edythe Stromme
Spring 2010

 

Spring 2010

CCRFund Welcomes Bigelow Tea as a Corporate Sponsor

Some of you may already be familiar with my favorite tea. It’s Constant Comment by Bigelow Tea. I usually have a couple of bags of it in my purse so that I can have my favorite tea when we are out for a meal. It was my favorite tea before we ever knew David and Eunice Bigelow. I took boxes of tea as gifts to our staff and friends in Georgia and they all loved it too. It makes a wonderful gift when weight is an issue which it always is when you are packing for overseas travel. We shared our Constant Comment starting in 2002 when Chuck and I were both working in Georgia for Barents Group.

In 2005 the Bigelows discovered our charity and began donating to CCRFund. Since then they have been faithful and generous donors. This year they have agreed to become corporate sponsors . . . continued "here."

Thank you all . . .

Edythe Stromme

Letters from Telavi . . .

We're starting something brand new on our website - Pen Pal Letters from Telavi. We'll be including photos, names and a copy of letters from the children of Telavi to children here in the states. These letters are a result of letters sent to Telavi by members of Merlyn's church, Trinity Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove, Oregon. That is why they are addressed to specific names.

Merlyn accompanied Edythe to Georgia in October, 2007, and delivered the letters in person. Some of them are quite charming but in any case it will be good to see some of the children's faces and see how well they are learning English. This is thanks to the fact that CCRFund pays for an English teacher to work with the kids at Telavi.

Click HERE for Details . . .

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

-- Mother Teresa!

Press Release
Levan in Georgia

"Telavi Update"

"Hello Dear Edythe and Chuck,

Everybody here asks me about you (Aleko, Dodo, Beso, all kids in the orphanage).You won't recognize them, they grow so fast.

I visited Telavi last Saturdy. Irma was sick (Heart problems), but thanks God she's well now. My previous visit, Judo and Football coachs asked me to buy Judo uniforms and balls, which I did and delivered last saturday (you can see photos).

I'm so proud about our kids, we have two champions and football team took second place in regional tournament. This time I couldn't see Tamuna, she's doing well (as Dodo says), time to time visits English lessons.She expects baby late spring (if I'm not wrong). There are 63 kids left at the Orphanage. Everytime I visit Telavi less and less kids I meet there, you remember our first visits how many kids were surrounding us.

As you know, many of them were adopted in Kakheti families (as a State Programme). At  the end of the day, I bought (as usual) some food (chiken, sugar, flour, rice, oil, fat cookies and many, many things), In January, I bought medicines (mostly antibiotics and cough) for around 400 lari, half of the kids were sick, some of them with H1N1 virus, but right now all of them are fine.

I'm still unemployed, the project (Swiss NGO) where I worked, closed in December. Now I'm in the line of thousands of jobless people, but I'm looking for the job, so we'll see.

That's it my friends for now, say hello to Lisa, Luke and all people I know.

Love and hugs, Levan . . .

Edythe Stromme
"Edythe Stromme"

Edythe Stromme
"The Guys!"

Edythe Stromme
"What a Selection"

Telavi Orphanage and Boarding School
Our Trip Video Report

Edythe Stromme and Merlyn White visited Georgia to meet with CCRF's Georgian staff and friends. They visited Telavi and Dzegvi to review progress and assess current needs.

Merlyn has created a video of that visit and it is now available through YouTube.

It is titled "Telavi Orphanage and Boarding School" but includes pictures from Dzegvi. The musical accompaniment is a folk song called "Suliko" sung by the Red Army Choir.

Please click (it takes TWO clicks to get started) and enjoy Merlyn's moving creation.

 

Telavi Orphanage and Boarding School
 Assisting orphans and abandoned children in the nation of Georgia.


610 Holly Avenue
Cottage Grove, Or. 97424
Phone: 541/767-2659