Charity Humanitarian Centre "Abkhazeti" (CHCA)

Charity Humanitarian Centre "Abkhazeti" (CHCA), established in 1995, is a Georgian, non-Governmental, non-profit organization that aims to improve the livelihoods of conflict-affected and other socially vulnerable persons and enhance their social and economic integration. Formed in response to the thousands of Georgian IDPs created by violent conflict with the region of Abkhazia, CHCA has since implemented a wide range of programmes, from education and micro-finance to emergency relief and housing assistance. CHCA's general goals are to increase the role of individuals and communities in building civil society and strengthening democracy, as well as to improve the social and economic conditions of internally displaced and other vulnerable populations through capacity-building and increasing self-reliance. The activities of the organization are carried out transparently, based on principles of professionalism, equality, long-term partnerships and sustainable development. When the outbreak of conflict in August 2008 generated a new wave of IDPs (mostly from the "South Ossetia" area), CHCA responded immediately. Along with delivering swift emergency relief, it worked to lay the groundwork for longer-term development efforts that would soon become crucial to the recovery process of the newly-displaced population.