A 20-ton humanitarian aid food cargo in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Abkhazia. The initiator of the assistance was the head of the board of the Moscow Abkhaz Diaspora Beslan Agrba. The cargo includes 13 tons of rice and 7 tons of buckwheat.

MAD Executive Director Daur Bargandzhia recalled that the Moscow Abkhaz Diaspora has been following the development of the situation with coronavirus infection in Abkhazia from the first days.

“Without thinking twice, we decided to send, (the Moscow Abkhaz Diaspora, together with the movement “We Are Together”, earlier organized the delivery of humanitarian medical aid to Abkhazia to fight coronavirus - ed.) humanitarian food cargo in addition to medical equipment,” said Executive Director of MAD.

The decision was made very quickly. Due to the [future] ban on the export of grain from the Russian Federation, it was necessary to send the goods immediately, Daur Bargandzhia explained.

A large batch of medical humanitarian aid to combat COVID-19 arrived in Abkhazia

 “The Mistral-Alco Company (the exclusive distributor of wines from Abkhazia, one of the largest importers of the Russian alcohol market, the head of the company - Beslan Agrba - ed.) covered all expenses for the formation of this cargo, and with the assistance of MAD the cargo was delivered  to Abkhazia,” said the representative of the MAD.

According to him, in addition to those in need among the population, the products will be distributed between medical institutions. These are the Republican Hospital, the Nursing Home, the KBRC (Rehabilitation center for veterans of PWPA - ed.), Neuropsychiatric Dispensary, Children's Hospitals, district maternity hospitals and other institutions.

Daur Bargandzhia added that the MAD continues to “closely monitor the situation” in the Republic.

“In the future, if possible, we will continue to provide assistance,” he said.

The help will be distributed among families by the charity organization “Kiaraz”.  Its director, Kadyr Argun, said that it is planned to reach more than 2,000 families.  

“A hotline is working, we receive calls, we record applications with requests. There are a lot of calls, we focus on helping single elderly people, families with many children, families with people with disabilities,” Argun explained.

He said that on average each such family, depending on its composition, will receive from 5 to 10 kilograms of rice and from 3 to 7 kilograms of buckwheat. In addition to cereals, other products will be handed over to the wards.

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“This amount of cereals is also supported by a large amount of milk powder and sugar, that is, we will be happy that we will manage to provide [the wards] with a good nutritious breakfast for about three months. The cereal transferred to us by Mistral is the basis of the grocery basket. We envisaged completing it with flour, pasta, vegetable oil, potatoes, carrots, onions, beans and other products, but their volume is already calculated for a month of consumption,” said the head of the charity organization.

He expressed gratitude to “everyone involved in the collection of this humanitarian aid.”

Active assistance in the packaging of cargo is provided by members of the Women's Councils of the World Abaza Congress.

“We have been at WAC for several years now, the Women's Council is actively participating in all actions. And now, when, due to the threat of the epidemic, it became difficult for people to provide for their families, we did not stand aside. Despite the fact that our leader Geta Ardzinba is in Moscow, she coordinates our activities. We try to help those in need and to be useful even in quarantine. Masks, gloves - everything is as it should be,” said Lyudmila Kogonia, a member of the WAC Women's Councils, about the essence and details of this work.

The newly created by Abkhaz entrepreneurs charity movement “We Are Together” and representatives of the Moscow Abkhaz Diaspora announced a fundraiser to help Abkhazia fight the new disease and protect the population of Abkhazia. To date, about 55 million rubles have been raised.

For everyone who wants to help Abkhazia in the fight against the spread of COVID-19, there is an opportunity to contribute to the bank details of the Moscow Abkhaz Diaspora or “We are together” movement from the territories of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Russian Federation, as well as to the details of the “World Abaza Congress” from the territory of the Republic of Turkey, or  make an online donation on the Congress website.  All funds received will be used to protect the life and health of residents of Abkhazia from coronavirus infection COVID-19.