Young volunteers promote safe hygiene and infection prevention measures among their peers throughout Georgia

UNICEF and USAID launch a peer-to-peer education programme for adolescents amid COVID-19 pandemic

07 February 2022
Young volunteers promote safe hygiene and infection prevention measures among their peers throughout Georgia
UNICEF/Geo-2019

7 February, 2022, Tbilisi, Georgia – 150 young people from all over Georgia join forces as volunteers to promote COVID-19 prevention practices in 63 municipalities. The youngsters will organize meetings and discussions through youth clubs and networks, with primary goals to raise awareness on hygiene practices and infection prevention and control measures. The youngsters will also be promoting the idea of volunteering in their local communities.

The project is organized by UNICEF, with the support of USAID and in partnership with the NGO "Helping Hand". The aim of the initiative is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among adolescents through promotion of hygienic measures and a healthy lifestyle.

Selected 150 volunteers will first undergo training sessions and activities co-led by specialists from the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health and other prominent experts of the field. Equipped with the necessary knowledge, the peer-educators will then conduct thematic information and educational sessions and round table meetings in their own communities to increase the knowledge and skills of young people. The young volunteers will organize and lead the hygiene promotion campaigns in each of the municipalities. Participants of the programme will have an opportunity to win micro grants and implement small-scale projects on safe hygiene including in the most vulnerable regions of Georgia.

Since 2020 UNICEF has continuously strengthened youth volunteerism in Georgia by training more than 200 adolescents on COVID-19 prevention measures and resulting in more than 150 youth volunteering projects across the country. In total more than 5000 youngsters from different municipalities have participated in youth volunteering projects in the past 2 years, which included educational roundtables, open air info-sessions, mini-projects aimed at helping local communities, etc.

To ensure the active involvement of adolescents in response to pandemic challenges, it is important to have programs led by young people themselves. Volunteerism helps adolescents to gain professional experience and knowledge, develop fundamental skills, create new friendships and, most importantly, plan and implement effective activities in their communities.

About USAID in Georgia: As the leading development agency of the U.S. Government, USAID supports Georgia to build the capacity to plan, finance, and implement its own solutions to development challenges. USAID has worked in Georgia since 1992, supporting the country’s transformation into a developing democracy that is increasingly integrated into Western political, security, and economic institutions. More than 30 USAID programs strengthen Georgia's resilience to malign influence, consolidate democratic gains through enhanced citizen responsive governance, and enable high-value employment through increased economic growth.  For more information, please visit: https://www.usaid.gov/georgia.

Media contacts

Maya Kurtsikidze
Communication Specialist, Head of Communication Section
UNICEF Georgia

About UNICEF

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org/georgia/

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