Photo: Tatia Khubulava | IOM
Since 2017, nearly 7,000 women have returned to the country of Georgia from Greece through a program implemented by the International Organization for Migration that offers people the chance to return home safely and rebuild their lives with the right tools and support. Lika, 35, a single mother of two, who now runs a small cafe on a quiet street in the heart of Ozurgeti, is one of them. A few years ago, she left her two young children with her grandmother and moved to Greece in search of better opportunities. She worked as a live-in caretaker for an elderly couple with disabilities before getting help from the IOM’s Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration program. Having found joy in the kitchen from a young age, she now saw a chance to turn that into a livelihood. She purchased professional baking equipment – a refrigerator, mixer, microwave, and electric oven – and transformed her small apartment into a home bakery. Then with help from friends and neighbors, she opened the doors to Another Café. She hopes to encourage other women in similar situations to keep moving forward and trust in their own abilities.
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