Irina Shavadze and Tamar Talakhadze have been involved in the EU-funded RDFG Employment Shuttle for more than 2 months. According to them, participating in the project and meeting with the beneficiaries of different ages have given rise to lots of ideas and new attitude towards life. Both disclose plans for the future – project ideas that they started thinking about after undergoing the Personal Development Training.

Irina Shavadze, 26, is an elementary school teacher by profession. She tells me that after going through the Personal Development Training she is more prepared to meet pupils. Furthermore, her self-confidence has risen, and she started thinking of her business idea seriously.

As Irina says, within the framework of the Employment Shuttle she met people of different ages and personalities, convincing her that there is no real problem between generations, as it is just important to have a will for listening each other:

“I have become more diplomatic. Before the project, I was surprised why elder people thought differently, never tried to find out a reason though. The more I get into these different thoughts the more I respect them. I learned a lot of new things from the older generation. Moreover, the relationship with my parents became much easier. The most important for me was the Personal Development Training showing a plethora of opportunities around me and teaching me to manage emotions”.

Tamar Talakhadze, 59, a geologist by profession, has been working at the Tetritskaro Museum of Area Studies for years. She believes that Personal Development Training has had a significant impact on her plans. Though with a slow pace, but she is going to start the implementation of own project soon:

“Unfortunately, my generation was not taught how to live. If I had such an opportunity at school or at least, at university… I am so glad that I have decided to participate in the project. From this point of view, I would change a lot in my life. Personal Development Training has inspired me so much that I have decided to start my project”.

Within the framework of the Employment Shuttle, the mentioned training sessions were led by Temur Mikautidze, Personal Development Trainer. According to the project participants, his sessions proved to be the most productive among others.

As Temur believes, any activity a person starts with the intention of realizing himself requires strong personal readiness:

“One’s level of informational knowledge is one side, his qualitative readiness – another. People should believe that they can do everything – they are not ordinary bolts, but creators themselves. Generally, our society finds it difficult to determine how one can be helpful for another. People should not guide with a ready-made recipe; each should have own initiative. People need a push to define how they can be useful for others”.

As Temur Mikautidze says, his sessions are often admired by the audience, but if they are not followed by some real steps then they make no sense:

“This admiration will not last forever. After the training sessions, one needs inner discipline to discover a chance, take the first step and deal with the obstacles that meet him along the way. Training cannot develop a successful person, personalities become successful themselves. Each of us should find own personality and join the group of successful people”.

The project participants tell me that Temur Mikautidze definitely gave them the above-mentioned push. As Temur says, each of us should be ready to handle extreme situations and have the ability to make timely decisions to bring the seemingly hard situation back to our advantage. Thus, cope with modern challenges”.

The Employment Shuttle is being implemented by the Association Rural Development for Future Georgia (RDFG), under the scope of the EU funded project Rural Development for Sustainable Growth in the Tetritskaro Municipality. The project aims to improve the quality of life in the Tetritskaro municipality through the introduction of innovative social-economic models and engagement of local private and public sectors in the decision making. RDFG is partnering with the Agro-Technology Association and the Lithuanian Local Action Groups Network to carry out the action.

The EU is supporting rural development in Georgia through its ENPARD Programme. Implemented since 2013 with a total budget of EUR 179.5 million, the main goal of ENPARD is to reduce rural poverty. The first phase of ENPARD in Georgia focused on developing the potential of agriculture. The second phase focuses on creating economic opportunities for rural populations that go beyond agricultural activities. More information on ENPARD is available at: www.enpard.ge

Author
Nina Kopaleishvili – Communications Officer, RDFG
nkopaleishvili@rdfg.ge