Research of needs of persons with

disabilities
Tbilisi City Municipality

Tbilisi
2016

Project funded by the

European Union

Project funded by the Open Society

Georgian Foundation

The research was done by non-governmental organization Supporting the

right and opportunity of the persons with disabilities to participate through
the bodies of the local self-governments in Georgia. The project is implemented by non-governmental organizations: Article 42 of the Constitution,
Partnership for Human Rights and Accessible Environment for Everyone.
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European
Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
The views, opinions and statements expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs only and do not necessarily reflect the position of Open Society Georgia Foundation. Therefore, the Open Society Georgia Foundation is not responsible for the content of the information material.
Author of the research:
Nana Gochiashvili
Participants of the research preparation:
Ana Arganasvhili, Ana Abashidze
Translated by:
Tengiz Nozadze

Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................................1
I. Basic findings.......................................................................................................................2
II. Thematic research of the needs of persons with disabilities living in Tbilisi
city municipality.....................................................................................................................5
1. Adapted Transport......................................................................................................5
2. Adaptation of buildings/Infrastructure...............................................................9
3. Adaptation of the building of self-government for blind and cecutient
people................................................................................................................................11
4. Employment and professional development of persons with disabilities......................................................................................................................................11
4.1. Employment Individual case...................................................................13
5. Attitude of Society...................................................................................................13
6. Pre-school education..............................................................................................16
7. Recreational zones/Sport.......................................................................................18
8. Rehabilitation.............................................................................................................19
9. A wheelchair adjusted to individual needs.....................................................19
10. Health right...............................................................................................................20
11. Accessibility of information.................................................................................21
12. Communication with the self-government..................................................21
13. Process of program planning.............................................................................22
14. Involvement of persons with disabilities in the decision making process.....................................................................................................................................24
15. Elections.....................................................................................................................24
16. Self-governments and women with disabilities...........................................25
17. State action plans...................................................................................................25
III. Conclusion........................................................................................................................25
IV. Recommendations........................................................................................................26
1. Tbilisi city hall and city council.............................................................................26
2. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs.........................................28

Introduction
The research report reviews the needs of persons with disabilities living in
Tbilisi city municipality. The basic problems that need the local self-government to be involved and to put in action the long-term result-oriented
projects are described by the persons with disabilities, their parents and the
organizations of the persons with disabilities in this work. The respondents
analyze barriers that prevent them from inclusion in the activities of the bodies of self-governments and evaluate obstacles that must be solved to support independence and ensure involvement in society of the persons with
disabilities.
The goals of the research is to describe the needs of persons with disabilities
in Tbilisi city municipality, that stipulate the effectiveness of their inclusion in
the decision-making processes of local self-government or represent an obstacle in the mentioned direction and to determine the barriers that should
be eliminated to support their independence and ensure their involvement
in self-government activities, to evaluate the effectiveness of the active programs of the target municipality from the perspective of protecting rights of
persons with disabilities.
The research was done using the qualitative research methods: Focus groups
and in-depths interviews. There were held 2 focus-group meetings with the
parents of children with disabilities and 12 in-depths interviews in Tbilisi: 8
with persons with disabilities and 4 with parents of persons with disabilities.

Research issues:
What are the local resources, that could ensure the active inclusion
of persons with disabilities in the activities of local self-governments;
Collect data how frequently and in what form did the persons
with disabilities have the experience of communication with local
self-governments;
Identification of the level of awareness of the function of self-government and the importance of their own role;
To identify the needs of persons with disabilities. With the purpose of
further advocacy to separate out those issues that are important for
their rights protection;

The research consists of five basic chapters. The main findings of the research
are given in the first chapter. Its goal is to birefly introduce to the reader that
basic needs, that according to the respodents mostly violate the rights of
persons with disabilities in the target municipalities of the research.
The thematic research of the needs of persons with disabilities in Tbilisi city
municipality is given in the second chapter and it consists of the following
sub-chapters: Adapted transport, adaptation of buildings/infrastructure,
adaptation of buildings of self-governments for persons without vision,
employment and raising qualification of persons with disabilities, attitude
of society, pre-school education, recreational zones/sports, rehabilitation,
wheelchairs adapted for individual needs, rights for health, availability of information, communication with self-government, process of program planning, involvement of persons with disabilities in decision making process,
elections, self-governments and women with disabilities, state action plans.
The thirds and fourth chapters represent the summary of the results of the
research and a list of recommendations that were developed by the research
group and respondents.
Due to the lack of research practice in this field and the actuality of the issue,
this research will be interesting as for the persons with disability, their parents and organizations of persons with disabilities, also for the local self-governments of the target municipalities, whose direct liabilities are to solve the
problems mentioned by the persons with disabilities during this research.

I. Basic findings
The absence of adapted transport is a problem for the involvement in society
and independent living of the persons with disabilities in Tbilisi city municipality;
The involvement of the persons with disabilities in the process of purchasing
adapted transport is important to avoid gaps;
Persons with disabilities think that in addition to the adaptation of transport,
the issues of the adaptation of stations and the establishment of control inside the transport itself are very important;
Persons with disabilities think that before adapting old metro stations, the
new metro station at the University shall be built according to the universal

design standards;
Besides the issue of the adaption of public transport, the obstacle to the independent moving of the persons with disabilities in Tbilisi city is a non-adapted transportation infrastructure too;
Drivers of public transport dont have information about persons with disabilities, thats why the retraining of drivers is important;
Because of the transportation infrastructure in Tbilisi, the blind and cecutient people arent able to move independently;
Prohibition of guide dogs in metro stations and different places of public
meetings prevents the individual moving of blind and cecutient people;
Besides the non-adapted transports the problems for blind and cecutient
people are infrastructure, stations, crossings at traffic lights and sidewalks;
There is no effective mechanism of involvement of persons with disabilities
in the decision making process of the local self-government of Tbilisi city;
The issue of the availability of physical environment remains an insuperable
obstacle for persons with disabilities in Tbilisi city municipality;
The majority of the ramps in Tbilisi city cant be used independently by persons with disabilities;
The needs of blind and cecutient people arent foreseen in the building of
city council, the meeting halls of city council and commission;
The web-page of the local self-government is absolutely unavailable for blind
and cecutient people;
The obligations provided in the state action plan of 2014-2016 to ensure the
equal possibilities for persons with disabilities were not performed by Tbilisi
city municipality;
The absence of the policy of employment and raising qualification/professional retraining is especially problematic for persons with disabilities living
in Tbilisi city;
One of the main obstacles for the employment of persons with disabilities in
Tbilisi city municipality is the non-adapted transportation infrastructure and

physical environment;
In Tbilisi city hall there is no strategic vision/plan for the employment of persons with disabilities;
The problem for persons with disabilities is wheelchairs of good quality, suited for their needs and the terms of handing;
The general insurance package doesnt consider the individual needs of persons with disabilities and reimbursement of rehabilitation programs;
The attitude of society based on pity and sentiment and the lack of information about the possibilities of persons with disabilities is a problem for their
involvement in society in Tbilisi city;
In terms of the attitude of society, the attitude of health service providers and
the lack of awareness are especially problematic;
The local self-government isnt involved the process of raising public awareness;
The attitude of the officials and the non-adapted physical environment prevent the persons with disabilities from the active communication with the
local self-government;
Compared to the men with disabilities the women with disabilities are less
represented in the implementation process of the local self government;
The non-adapted physical environment and the different voting rules of persons with disabilities represent an obstacle for the participation of the persons with disabilities in the elections of the local self-government;
Sport institutions and recreational zones are not accessible for persons with
disabilities;
Children with disabilities living in Tbilisi city are lacking the rehabilitation services provided in accordance with their individual needs;
The persons with disabilities arent involved in the process of program planning in Tbilisi city municipality;
The educators in kindergartens in Tbilisi city municipality dont have enough
qualification for involving the children with disabilities in educational pro-

cess;
The problem of pre-school inclusive education in kindergartens is caused by
the lack of corresponding specialists and a low qualification of the educators;
Overcrowded groups prevent the children with disabilities from the effective
involvement in educational process;

II. Thematic research of the needs of persons with

disabilities living in Tbilisi city municipality
1. Adapted Transport
The main problem for the involvement of the persons with disabilities in the
society in Tbilisi city and promotion of their independent living is adapted
transport.
In Tbilisi city they plan to purchase adapted transport for years but it hasnt
been done yet. According to the persons with disabilities the most important
is the transparency of the purchasing process and the involvement of persons with disabilities to get rid of gaps:
The metro, buses and mini buses in Tbilisi arent adapted. The information was
spread that at the end of 2014 there should have been a tender and in 2015 new
buses should be purchased, but nothing has been done yet. But even this process
of purchasing must be controlled, because with the purpose of saving the budget
they can buy the buses that cant be used independently. Therefore the involvement of the persons with disabilities at the stage of announcement of tender is
very important A person with disability.
During the research the persons with disabilities identified several issues that
the local self-government should take into consideration while purchasing
the transport. As they say it would be best if in addition to buying adapted
transport they made quay at bus stops, established control inside the transport not to let other people take the place of the persons with disabilities:
Quays at the stations are very important too. There some type of buses when the
tramps lift up themselves, but there are other types that stop, the ramps move
down and you go up yourself. I think that it would be best if they made quays at
the stations. If they dont do this then they shall buy buses with the ramps moving
down at the stations. There must be a strict control inside too, no to let other peo-

ple take the place where the wheelchair should be allocated. In the purchasing
process there must be not only involvement but the strict demand A person
with disability.
During the research the persons with disabilities along with the problem of
adapted transport in Tbilisi city also mentioned the issue of the availability of
metro stations and especially the metro station at University. They say that
creation of universal design during the process of constructing new metro
station is very important.
As for construction of the metro station its important that the persons with disabilities shall go and demand themselves. During building the adaptation of
environment is cheaper than afterwards. They dont even know that making of
universal design is even cheaper than making the staircase. For example a new
metro station is now being built but as we know they dont build it with universal
design A person with disability.
According to the research its important to buy not just single adapted transports but to create general transportation infrastructure in accordance with
the principals of universal design:
They should allocate municipal transport because not everyone is able to use Taxi.
10 GEL is the minimum amount that is spent when you go outside. There must
be installed ramps, adapted metro, arranged full adaptation. Once it happened
that I crossed the street and there were no ramps and sometimes I meet ramps
in such places where they arent needed. Everything this must be determined correctly and with participation of persons with disabilities. Our involvement is the
most important and prior, because I can assure you that no one knows our needs
better than we do. We meet all these things each day A person with disability.
In addition to allocating the adapted public transport the persons with disabilities in Tbilisi city think that retraining of the drivers of the buses is also
very important:
The behavior of the drivers of municipal transport shall be controlled very strictly. Their retraining is necessary. It would be best if these regulations were put in
internal regulations. The results will come soon if these issues are included in the
exams of driving license. I have seen some drivers that are obstinate and dont
stop even if they passed the station by just one meter and sometimes the same
drivers dont even stop at the stations. They dont wait for you when they are
stopped, you must hurry and manage to leave the bus A person with disability.

Along with the persons with moving problems the non-adapted transport
is a serious problem for blind and cecutient people. People without vision
that participated in the research claim that its totally impossible to move
independently in the streets of Tbilisi and the reason for this is not only the
transport but unmanaged transportation infrastructure in general. One of
the problems named by them is the commercials on the surface of the buses
that disturbs orientation of cecutient people and also the numbers of the
bus are lightened in such way that during daylight its actually impossible to
read them:
The colors of the buses are very good today. If the bus stops at the station and its
a standard bus than the most important is the number that shall be written in
such form that we could see it. You may see it at night, but if sun shines on it, you
arent able to see it. The commercials on the bus are a problem, because at night
you dont see where you are, you cant orientate. You have to guess where to go,
look through the door or at the side of the driver. If the number of the bus was announced than the color of the bus would not matter A person with disability.
The obstacle to the independent moving of blind and cecutient people is the
parking spaces allocated on the carriageway of pedestrians that makes it not
safe to walk independently even on the mentioned carriageway:
Generally the problem at the stations and in the city arose since the service of City
Park was created. The parking space is a part of car zone, but it doesnt belong to
the carriageway of pedestrians. Thats why cars appeared on the place of pedestrians. There are no laws for this and thats a big mistake. When the pedestrians
are fined for crossing the motorway, there is no penalty for cars that cross the
space of pedestrians A person with disability.
According to people without vision, a serious problem for them while crossing the street at the traffic lights is the uncontrolled movement of the cars
of police, cash collection and emergency and thats why they usually get in
extreme situations:
One of the important things is that the movement of the cars of police, cash collection and emergency are not controlled. They drive, are lazy to stop, turn on
the siren and have right to pass. It happened many times that I was crossing the
street, they saw me and turned on the siren. Youre in the middle of the road and
cant decide where to go. You cant go either back or forward. You get in extreme
situation and have to decide quickly, youre actually depending on the fortune
A person with disability.

According to the people without vision and cecutient people that participated in the research, the railway and inner infrastructure of metro stations are
relatively accessible for them but there are problems related to the surfaces
of some metro stations:
The railway is relatively regulated. Metro has a standard and demand that a platform and line must be separated. In the stations where therere old repairs, for
example in Didube station, the surface is attributive and you feel it when you
step. For example at Vazha-Pshavela station its separated only by color, it shall
obviously be attributive too. For cecutient people its also very important that
there should be laid special, thin aluminum tapes, that adhere to the floor and
they are very durable. They are to bring you from the door to the card reader, then
to the escalator, from escalator to the platform and of course from the platform
to the escalator. It frequently used to happen that when I am on the platform I
dont know where the escalator is. I wait to hear the sound of the escalator, but
I cant understand which is going up and which is coming down. In addition to
this there must be a map at the entrance and platform. Its called an active map,
where theres a plan of the concrete station, you understand exactly where is the
escalator, platform. This map is especially important for such stations where
there are many entrances A person with disability.
According to the results of the research the prohibition of guide dogs in metro stations and different public spaces is a problem for the independent moving of persons without vision:
Those who use guide dogs cant go inside metro stations or markets. You cant tie
them in the street, you have either to bring them inside or not to enter at all. If the
obstacle isnt removed, whatever the will you have you will not be able to enter.
Guide dogs should be allowed everywhere. In the legislation of other countries
there are allowances and corresponding regulations of this issue. The owner of
the market is obliged to place the product so that the dog couldnt reach. We tried
to train the dogs but its meaningless, because they arent allowed anywhere A
person with disability.
According to the blind and cecutient people that participated in the research, the adaption of the means of transport will not be enough for the
full availability of public transport. Before you go inside transport you have
to know its number, where it goes. There are different methods to solve this
problem that the government should consider in the process of planning the
infrastructure:

There are no audio stops in the buses, meaning that they dont pronounce when
the bus stops. They must pronounce the number of the bus when it stops at the
stations too, but it isnt done. A device must be installed at the door and when the
doors open the number of the bus must be pronounced. In addition to this there
must be the plans on the screens in Braille type and in enlarged type too. There
must also be an audio board. For me the most comfortable are the so-called the
informational handsets, that you can take and hear in what time and which bus
will come. When you hang down the handset it will turn off automatically, so it
will not work in turned on regime all time as its now and that makes people to
complain because of disturbing their sleep at night. If such regulations are undertaken there will not be such problems any more. Also the edges of the stairs
must be painted in yellow or they should have something pasted for cecutient
people to know where to step - A person with disability.
According to the people without vision, the problem in terms of transportation infrastructure in Tbilisi city is the substandard audio signals at the traffic
lights:
The audio signals at traffic lights must be installed at the both sides of the road,
so that the sound gave you the direction where to go. Besides it mustnt be speech
but signals. As I said there is the EU standard A person with disability.

2. Adaptation of buildings/Infrastructure
According to the persons with disabilities that participated in the research,
along with the transportation infrastructure in Tbilisi city the problem is the
availability of physical environment. They positively evaluate the adaptation
of street crossing for people with wheelchairs but this just makes them able
to move independently in the central streets but the buildings are still unavailable:
Adaptation of buildings is very important. The ramps were recently installed in
the streets but one problem worries me very much. Are they safe? I mean that
sometimes people stop cars on the ramps and the second problem is that the
ramps themselves get damaged and they may not endure till the next year. Its
good until we have these ramps. But I shouldnt just walk. The elevator in Amirani
cinema isnt still working. Sometimes they make the ramps at the building but
you have problems on the first floor, theres a staircase or high overpass and you
cant get to the elevator. When I go to the government of my district I cant get
inside. The employee comes down. I give letters to my relatives to take to the city
hall. When you enter the city hall, that place where you have to address first is

very high and thats abusive. At least on part must be lowered A person with
disability.
Persons with disabilities that participated in the research talk about substandard ramps and the problems and obstacles that make them unable to come
outside:
I meet problems of infrastructure as soon as I come out of my house. In some
cases there are elevators, but there are staircases between the entrance and
street, so you need help to go even into your own yard. In recent times they installed ramps at some places but usually they have such slope that you achieve
extremely high speed and may receive serious damage, overturn, and going up
with wheelchairs is impossible. Its usually for visual effect, to deceive the eyes A
person with disability.
According to the results of the research the treatment in public institutions
is usually abusive. As they say the problem is in the attitude of the officials,
that know but dont take into consideration the obstacles that people with
wheelchairs have to overcome after entering the building. One of the persons with disability that participated in the research remembers on case in
Tbilisi city hall:
I will tell you the example at Tbilisi city hall. I accompanied one person with disability and they had meeting on the second floor. The elevator hadnt stop at that
floor and they said the security would take by hands. They should arrange meeting on the floor where the elevator stops, but they dont understand this. This
person refused any meeting A person with disability.
As an answer to the question about the obstacles that persons with disabilities meet while moving independently in Tbilisi city municipality they appointed the issue of open wells that often incur them danger:
Fully or half open wells are a separate problem. The tape is encircled so close that
you dont see it and when you see youre already inside, you dont manage to react. There must be a massive barrier to make you stop and understand the problem. The covers of the wells have big holes and sometimes the stick may stuck
in and break. These covers are good but the holes must be so thin that the stick
shouldnt be stuck A person with disability.

10

3. Adaptation of the building of self-government for blind and cecutient people

As an answer to the question about the obstacles to the involvement of persons with disabilities in the activities of the local self-government, the cecutient people that participated in the research named the building of city
council, meetings of council and commission that dont take into consideration their needs:
First of all its the not-adapted building of city council and directly the meeting
hall, where the cecutient people get in such situations when they dont understand whats happening. If the presentation is done the images on the slide-show
must be clear and these people dont have to interpret the content. This is one of
the main reasons of non-involvement. Even if they go, they sit without function
and thats meaningless. This must be solved at first. There must be special lightening and relief floor. No one is demanding to change the current one, a special
gravel tape may be used to take you to the registry at least, to be able to speak to
the worker, write a statement A person with disability.

4. Employment and professional development of persons with

disabilities
In terms of promoting the independent living of persons with disabilities
during the research in Tbilisi city they singled out two main problems that
are dependent on each other. These are professional development/retraining and employment.
The first problem that the representatives of the organizations of persons
with disabilities named is the lack of will of professional development among
persons with disabilities. By their opinion this is caused by the fact that these
people havent seen actual results for years:
The problem is the same in Tbilisi and in regions. These people want to get employed. They have been asking for this for years and found no results. So many
of them dont have motivation for fight. Theyre sure nothing will change. They
see that so much money is spent but there is no result A representative of the
community organization of persons with disabilities.
Persons with disabilities think that in addition to their employment the government shall provide their retraining long-term programs, because majority
of people with disabilities have had no chance of getting the same education

11

as others and thats why they are less competitive:

I have already a dream that there were long-term retraining programs for persons with disabilities to increase their qualification. If we say that we give persons
with disabilities a possibility to strengthen that we must start by creating basic
conditions. Majority of persons with disabilities couldnt / cant get education
and these not-formal and long-terms trainings are vitally important for them.
There must be implemented nonstop educational program to make them competitive even after several years A person with disability.
According to the research along with professional development and employment the problem for persons with disabilities is the non-adapted transportation infrastructure. They say that without solving this problem their employment will be meaningless because they will not be able to get to the
working place:
I need much more money to move through Tbilisi than others. If others pay 3 GEL
for Taxi I pay 5 GEL because I need help of the driver to fold the wheelchair. If I
had to go to the working place every day out of the question I wouldnt be able
to work. There is no systematic attitude to the employment problem. Its a whole
chain of problems and they all depend on each other A person with disability.
According to a person with disability that participated in the research there is
no vision of the employment of persons with disabilities in Tbilisi city municipality, thats why persons with disabilities are often abused by the actions of
the officials when they ask them for job:
I have higher education. I had been working for years. Then when I wanted to
get employed I took computer courses at city hall. After this I asked them for job
and they offered me a position of a yard-keeper. They said there are just these
vacancies. The vacancy itself wasnt for persons with disabilities. When they saw
me barely moving with two sticks and offered me a position of a yard-keeper its
a bit abusive A person with disability.
According to the research the case of employment of people without vision
is even more difficult:
Employment is very important. Its a serious problem that I can count with my
fingers the number of employed people without vision. They should be 50 or even
less. Basically theyre employed in the union of blind. I havent heard of such facts
in other private or public institutions A person with disability.

12

4.1. Employment Individual case

I had been working in a musical studio for 7 years, then I opened my own musical
studio, I had been working there for two years. Then I underwent surgeries and
as I had a very difficult condition I didnt manage to bear physical activities any
more, no one agreed to take me at job, my profession became unpopular too. But
I hope that once Ill make something myself.
My main problem is employment, the physical factor isnt disturbing me so much.
I truly have some problems and cant attend rehabilitation courses because of
lack of money, I have just pension but if I were employed and realized I wouldnt
complain and in reverse I would strengthen others. I have resources and power
for that. If only there was a possibility of my retraining, for example in office activities, I would learn it with pleasure, I simply cant do that at my own expense.
The government isnt interested in increasing the qualification and quality of
the employment of these people. I know a lot of people with such problems and
meanwhile they all are equally competitive.
Once I went to the school and they looked at me in such manner that it was meaningless to continue talking. There was a vacancy of music teacher. When they
saw me they were confused, a real discrimination. They said there are no places,
but I knew that there was a place and they were looking for a music teacher. You
may think of me as weak but people get tired. Then I was so discouraged that decided to do something myself at home to strengthen. Sometimes I used to have
private pupils A person with disability.

5. Attitude of Society
A problem for the involvement of persons with disabilities in society is the
attitude of society, gaze at them. Persons with disabilities think that the only
solution to this is more frequent presence outside in the streets. But then
the obstacle is the non-adapted transportation infrastructure and physical
environment:
As though something is being done but nothing is real, that would change our
daily life. If you arent strong yourself no one will help you. I love to go to the markets but its impossible, everyone gazes at you and you dont feel free. When I
use to go into my district, everyone looked at me at first but now they perceive
me ordinarily. But its difficult for me to go outside my district. I live in the suburb
and I cant go to the center of the city because of the transport A person with
disability.

13

According to the respondents of the research the society often doesnt know
how to treat the persons with disabilities, they have no information. Sometimes they want to help but the reverse is happening:
Sometimes I dont need assistance but people come and take me into their hands
and sometimes I need help but they stand, look at me and do nothing. Both are
the same for me, you must first ask if I need and then touch me. Today the society has such attitude and awareness that if you arent strong you will lock into
yourself, suppress and have no will to go outside. You need time to overcome all
this, everyone has different ways of overcoming this A person with disability.
Persons with disabilities claim that along with transportation infrastructure
and availability of physical environment one more obstacle to their independent living and employment is the attitude of society:
Main problems are transport, infrastructure and employment. Many people have
education but cant use it and realize themselves. This is caused by the stereotype
that these people will not be able to do the same work with the same quality as
others will and therefore their possibilities arent correspondingly evaluated A
person with disability.
The respondents think that the society thinks of persons with disabilities as
people who need just curatorship. By their opinion someone must take care
of them, for example the family and that must be enough for them:
The attitude of the society is the main obstacle to the involvement of persons with
disabilities. The equal development with others doesnt depend only on physical
environment. The problem is caused by the wrong attitude of the people, who
have a stereotype that persons with disabilities dont have to get education, find
job, because they have relatives and they will take care of them. Those who say
opposite have heard of this maybe at some presentation but in heart they still
remain the same and think that a person with disability doesnt need his/her own
family. This may not affect men as much as girls, when they speak of her as a
poor, in difficult condition, a relative or brother should take care of her, how will
she do house works. These problems come from childhood. They dont care to
give education to them who have problems from childhood. They may think of
health but not of education. Meanwhile she may have a totally different priority.
Parents play a great role in solving this problem. But still the state government
should take the most obligations. There must be such resources/programs and
specialists in social service centers that will not leave these people relied on parents A person with disability.

14

Persons with disabilities that participated in the research think that media
will play a great role in the process of raising public awareness, if it permanently works in this direction. There can be created a special TV program
where every person with disability will be able to express his/her position:
One more important issue is the attitude of society. For example yesterday I met a
woman who asked me why I was going alone. How can I explain in two minutes
why I am walking alone. The only thing I managed to say was that I always go
alone and thats my right. I cant explain to everyone in the street, because sometimes you may meet five people and everyone asks why I am alone. It would be
good if these issues are broadcasted in media. Someone may make a program
once in a month and sometimes its bad sometimes good. It would be good if on
program was allocated on Public TV. Generally I think that we should have a possibility to participate in TV-show discussions, ask questions and etc. As they ordinarily do at shows. Along with this there must be a separate program because
this will be enough for public consciousness, they will still say: What a clever
man/woman and how poor A person with disability.
According to the parents of the persons with disabilities the attitude of the
society towards them is different from the first days after birth, when the clinicians advice to leave these children in hospital:
The clinicians at the hospital put you in such situations that youre ready to leave
the child there. I was a mother of two children and they treated me in such way,
spreading fear and sense of guilt that I was ready to leave. My relatives that were
outside didnt know about this, only I knew and they left me to say this to others. They told me on birthing chair. During four days they were claiming that I
was sixth with this problem and all previous ones left children there. They said
its a heavy cross, you have 15-16 years old children and you leave this to them. I
should leave this child, they said at first, he will not be able to hold his head, eat,
will choke, die with hunger, will not recognize his own parents. When the time of
vaccination came we were two in the room, they went to the second looked at me
and said that we dont need that. Then they were bringing others and showing.
Do you know in what situation we were? I thought I brought trouble on earth and
was the last person A parent of a person with disability.
The respondents claim that till today only the non-governmental organizations have been working on solving the problem of increasing public consciousness and nothing was done by the state government. But the central
and local government must be totally responsible for this:

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Nowadays a role and activity of non-governmental organizations is higher than

of state. The officials have no awareness in this direction but it should be on the
contrary. Non-governmental organizations should just assist them but we have
a totally opposite picture A person with disability.

6. Pre-school education
One more study issue was the identification of difficulties and problems related to the process of pre-school education of children with disabilities in
kindergartens in Tbilisi city.
According to the respondents the first obstacle in the process of giving preschool education to blind children is the lack of qualification of educators:
It seems that trainings of communication with bind children for educators
werent enough. Parents of first class blind children say that they had very good
educators at kindergarten but she didnt know strategies of attitude towards
children, even in terms of hygiene, household skills. If a teacher doesnt know the
peculiarities of blind children in communication, it will be very difficult to take
into consideration all those specific details. Blind children find it difficult to start
communication and the teacher must somehow involve them in such groups
that they werent separated from others. Sometimes others are playing and these
children sit alone. Usually the parents claim that their children arent involved,
the games arent adapted. They dont know how to do that. Those few trainings
that are held, are usually about sensory disorders A representative of the organization of the persons with disabilities.
According to the parents of children with disabilities the problem of giving
qualitative inclusive pre-school education in kindergartens is caused by the
lack of appropriate specialists or low qualification of educators:
There are neither special educators nor psychologist in the kindergarten my child
goes to. When I demanded they said they cant pay for themselves and how will
they pay for others? And they lied to me saying that they already sent a demand
and said me to write a statement. When I went to the agency they knew nothing
about this issue. I wrote the statement but received refusal. The directors didnt
participate in this problem and didnt help me, despite the fact that there are two
children with special needs in this kindergarten A parent of a person with disability.
The respondents say that because of the lack of qualification the cases of

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violence from the staff of kindergarten towards the children with disabilities
are frequent:
There was a child of autism spectrum in our kindergarten, whom an educator
couldnt control and locked in the toilet to punish. A parent came eventually to
take the child and found him locked in the toilet. The problem didnt go beyond
the kindergarten and the educator was allocated in another group, where there
isnt a child with disability. They solved the problem in this way A parent of a
child with disability.
Due to the lack of specialists and qualification of educators, part of parents
of children with disabilities are obliged to look after their children at kindergartens themselves and be the whole day with them, and therefore going
to kindergartens becomes ineffective. In this case for children with disabilities kindergartens are just to see other children and they are totally excluded
from the educative process:
I am involved as I go and sit there a whole day. The group is hanging on me and
the teachers sit quietly. Last year, before we got used to, I couldnt leave him for
an hour and a half, he had problems of chewing. Children called me a teacher A
parent of child with disability.
According to the parents of children with disabilities the groups at kindergartens are overcrowded, the educators cant manage to individually work with
children with disabilities and therefore they arent involved in the educative
process:
The problem is overcrowded groups. There are 47 children in our group. My child
has motor problems, he cant nor run neither jump as other children and Im always afraid that others may knock him down. They cant look after so many children so they arrange quiet hours, seat them at tables. This is violence A parent
of a child with disability.
The respondents say that because of the current attitude and the lack of corresponding specialists the problems occur from the very first days at kindergarten. The administrations usually try not to admit children with disabilities
in their kindergarten and thus they create artificial obstacles:
We had serious admission problems. They didnt say directly that they didnt
want to admit us but tried everything to do so. We dont have a special educator,
itll be difficult for you and etc. They made me understand without any conflict. I

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said this wasnt a problem for me, I didnt give up. The teachers have bigger problems themselves. They must be prepared no to get shocked. The educator was
turned around when we entered because the director told him that such child
was coming. I should get angry and leave but I entered and we sat down. When
he saw that the child isnt so frightening he started communication with us. He
didnt have any plan, I was giving advices, asking to involve him in games and
etc. Everything my child did was received differently by them. I wanted to use a
pot, he uses it at home quite well, but they made me to use pampers. At home we
use pampers only during sleep. During the day he has no problem A parent of
a child with disability.
According to the results of the research the problems name by the respondents are mainly reviled during the process of involvement of children with
disabilities in kindergartens because its usually discriminative:
They didnt give a uniform to my child, saying that he couldnt dance anyway.
They took off the uniform from him and dressed another child A parent of a
child with disability.
When they are teaching rhymes to other children, they say to my child to go and
play. I dont want this playroom. They dont involve him in activities. Doesnt he
obey? Try to make him. I cant reach my child to be involved like others A parent
of a child with disability.
One more reason why I took my child to another kindergarten. On the last celebration he was sitting dressed for the whole ceremony and they didnt involve
him in any activity, because he was very active on the previous celebration and
he needs instructions all the time and they are lazy to do that. In spring they
didnt call him on the stage at all A parent of a child with disability.

7. Recreational zones/Sport
As an answer to the question about what should be the priority of the local
self-government of Tbilisi city for the promotion of involvement of persons
with disabilities in society the respondents named providing availability of
recreational zones and sport institutions for persons with disabilities:
Sport activities are very important for us. Myself I need physical activities very
much, massages, but I cant manage this, first of all because of the financial problems and then because they arent adapted. Today my pension is 150 GEL. This
amount is so little that its not enough even for living, nothing to say about mas-

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sage. Even if we had money, none of these products are adjusted for our needs.
In addition to sport institutions the majority of recreational zones are totally unavailable for us. If wanted to walk independently in the park I wouldnt be able
A person with disability.

8. Rehabilitation
Parents of children with disabilities say that the local self-government must
implement those programs that arent included in the sub-programs financed by the ministry of health and that are necessary for development of
these children. These may be co-financing of speech pathologist service and
services of physical rehabilitation:
My child has Downs syndrome. He has been attending the early development
program till now. Now he cant go even there because of age. He goes, eats but
at what expense. The whole income of the family goes for that and we still cant
finance everything. These children need permanent service of speech pathologist but we cant cover that and there are many parents in such situation. Also
the physical rehabilitation services, massage, trainings are very important, but
they arent financed. Thats why the local self-government must finance those
programs that the ministry of health does not. The self-government must take
responsibility and create a special program Parent of a child with disability.

9. A wheelchair adjusted to individual needs

According to people with wheelchairs that participated in the research the
main problem for them is getting qualitative wheelchair adjusted to their individual needs within the state sub-program. They think that the main problem of the wheelchairs given to them is their quality. By their opinion theres
only one solution, they should choose the wheelchair themselves or get the
allocated funds and add remaining amount themselves if possible:
A wheelchair is a problem. If the state gives you a wheelchair its not adjusted for
you, its uncomfortable and not sufficient. Every wheelchair that I use I bought
myself. I met a new real problem, the state doesnt give me a chance to choose but
says to sit in that chair. I dont know whom may I address to receive the amount
that is allocated for this wheelchair. I would add the remaining amount myself
and buy the wheelchair that I need. Their attitude is just to give wheelchair if you
dont have A person with disability.
Persons with disabilities say that because of low quality the wheelchairs giv-

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en by the state need frequent repair and the state doesnt cover that:
Its uncomfortable, visually not acceptable. I cant sit, they cant construct what I
need and the quality is a problem. My wheelchair endured 7 years, leather wore
out, I took to repair. The ones repaired by them last for 1 year only. That endured
7 years, this - just one year. My wheelchair has rubber wheels, they dont need
pumping. But those that are installed by them may force me to stop anywhere.
And the state doesnt help for repairing I do it myself A person with disability.
According to the results of the research the terms of giving the wheelchairs
are problematic, because the process may last for months and during this
period persons with disabilities cant even go outside:
In May I was at the ministry of health and asked them for a new wheelchair but
I havent received the answer yet. I need to change the current one, because they
have their terms and get depreciated. They say that their priority is vulnerable
people and my letter is being discussed. The wheelchair for me is as important as
shoes for any person. I cant move from room to room without a wheelchair A
person with disability.

10. Health right

According to the persons with disabilities that participated in the research
one of the important issues for them is the availability of rehabilitation services. They arent covered by insurance package and this makes situation
harder:
I have atrophy of muscles and need rehabilitation courses very much. When I had
enough finances I used to attend courses and had good results. Insurance package doesnt cover such services. However if I had permanent access to rehabilitation services I would have much better results and I wouldnt need operation A
person with disability.
Persons with disabilities say that the current general insurance package
doesnt consider their individual needs. The one problem is reimbursement
of their important operations and services and the second one is the duration of stationary service where the conditions of persons with disabilities
arent considered:
The most important is health system and general insurance package. Myself I
underwent surgery in 2007. I think that the social package of that time was better

20

than this of general insurance. This issue has to be reviewed. You go to the polyclinics, visit a family doctor and she herself writes medicines, instead of sending
me to a concrete specialist. My operations in 2007 were 100% financed. Cost of
both operations was 16000GEL and the package was so good that the difficulty
of a concrete person was considered. How long could he/she stay at the stationary. Today it isnt done so. They discharge everyone in 4-5 days. This a very difficult operation, I have plastic joints. They let me stay 18-18 days during the first
and second operations. After 10 days they helped me to get up, taught me walking, made rehabilitation courses for me. Nowadays the attitude is superficial and
human rights are violated when you cant even get up and they make you leave
the hospital A person with disability.

11. Accessibility of information

Blind and cecutient people say that besides the adaptation of buildings, their
involvement in the activities of the local self-government is disturbed by the
problems of accessibility of information. They say that people get information about the activities of self-government from the web-pages and blind
and cecutient people are totally unable to read that information:
One more problem is the web-pages of the self-government that are totally useless for blind and cecutient people. Every state web-page has general standard
to be useful for blind and cecutient people. The main problem is that they put the
information there in graphic format or just photos and we cant read them. Every
web-page may be reconstructed and suited to the standard. In addition to this
the pre-election brochures and programs must be in Braille type and audio versions, because from about 12000 blind in Georgia just 2000 possibly know Braille.
For others it would be better if the material is placed on disks or web-pages in
audio format according to the standards. This issue is very important for getting
information because you cant always make someone to sit down and read information for you, especially when the information is in large quantity A person
with disability.

12. Communication with the self-government

To the question about how frequently do persons with disabilities address
the local self-government, for what issues and how do they react the persons with disabilities that participated in the research said they actually dont
address the self-government any more. They explain this with the bad experience of communication with the self-government. The problem is also
protracted reaction from them:

21

I havent addressed the city hall for a long time. This has its explanation. I addressed them because I needed to make prosthesis but they made me wait for
two years and havent answered at all. They allocated some money after two
years, but I was already in such a difficult condition that prosthesis was needed
for my leg too and because my previous demand was different they didnt transfer even that amount A person with disability.
The respondents say that the obstacle for them in communication with the
self-government is the non-adapted physical environment of the buildings
of city hall/administration and therefore sometimes theyre unable to enter
these buildings:
We are physically unable to enter the building of administration. Someone may
help to enter the first floor but then its totally impossible to move independently
inside the building. What should be a bigger problem in communication with the
self-government A person with disability.
The persons with disabilities say that the only thing that is supposed to hear
from the city hall is pity, baseless hopes and unsolved problems as a result:
I had frequent communication with the city hall. There was always such situation: They listen with tearful eyes, calm you and let you go. Mainly we wanted
money for medicines and transfusion but theyve never financed us. The mentioned medicines arent financed by the ministry of health but without them the
children are in a critical condition A parent of a child with disability.

13. Process of program planning

To the question about the shortcomings in the process of program planning
of the self-government the respondents answered that the programs arent
really suited for solving the problems of persons with disabilities in Tbilisi city
and they dont have long-term results that would be equally accessible for
every person with disability. The problem is also involvement of persons with
disabilities in the process of program planning and consideration of their real
needs:
When a program is planned and implemented without learning the real situation
then the results are very bad. At first they must identify the most important issues,
then learn the problem, include appropriate specialists and persons with disabilities. IF we look at the current situation the activities of the self-government in this
direction are just formal and they arent oriented for long-term results. They may

22

help a few people but this isnt a system A person with disability.
In addition to program planning the respondents say that the problem is the
absence of monitoring, supervisory body or their ineffective work. According
to them nobody knows how this or that program is working, what results has
the self-government achieved:
Besides planning and implementing the programs there is no monitoring service.
No one knows who is a supervisor of these programs. The question is can the
supervisor be the same group that is responsible for the implementation of the
program. Also its interesting whether the employees are qualified people or not.
There is no system where one is planning, one implementing and one monitoring
A representative of the organization of persons with disabilities.
To show the problems in program planning one of the persons with disabilities that participated in the research gave an example of kindergartens,
when they decided to create a model of fully adapted physical environment
at several pre-school educative institutions:
There is a same problem in pre-school educational program. Last year I was invited as an expert to check several kindergartens in terms of physical adaptation and check some of them that would be models of full adaptation. We had to
evaluate these kindergartens and here we met the same situation. Nobody knew
why the inclusive kindergartens were called so, who evaluated them, why does it
have a status of inclusive kindergarten, who empowered it, they had no criteria.
They said the criteria is the existence of so called ramps. You may put some type
of ramps and say that this is an inclusive kindergarten. No one thinks whats happening inside, what type of ramps are they. One director even didnt let us inside.
We explained that this was not a punitive measure. If nothing was done he would
have at least a document what is done incorrectly and what has to be corrected
A representative of the organization of persons with disabilities.
According to the parents of children with disabilities that participated in the
research a good example of the inaccessible program is a summer camp financed by the Tbilisi city hall when they gave to children with disabilities the
vouchers for holidays at sea:
They often finance holidays in summer but in reality only a few number of people
use this. Everyone cant be satisfied. I think it would be good if the money was
allocated for something else that everyone could use A parent of a child with
disability.

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14. Involvement of persons with disabilities in the decision making process

The persons with disabilities that participated in the research claim that the
local self-government of Tbilisi city doesnt provide the involvement of persons with disabilities in the decision making process. Its true that sometimes
the memorandums with the organizations of persons with disabilities are
reached but this doesnt mean that the procedures at the self-government
level are transparent and available for everyone:
I usually have met in practice that they pal up with some non-governmental organization, make memorandum and have consultation only with them. Then
they say they have involved that people. This is not involvement. At first, they
must get sure that this organization is qualified in all directions. Also its widespread in practice to appoint a person with disability as an advisor. Having advisor itself isnt bad but the self-government must not limit with only this model of
involvement. More transparent procedures must be introduced A person with
disability.

15. Elections
The results of the research show that despite some successful changes, the
non-adapted environment during elections still remains problematic for persons with disabilities and therefore their active rights of independent election are not implemented like others:
I was at elections, I was involved in administrative activities myself. According to
my working experience I can say that compared to previous years the activity of
persons with disabilities was higher. They wanted to come themselves and didnt
demand portable boxes and mobile groups. The election district was artificially
adapted. But I will lie if I say that I entered independently. I needed help of my
friend. The ramps couldnt be installed differently because of the staircase. I saw
places where there were no ramps and staircases but there was cabin for persons
with disabilities. At that place where I went there were ramps but no cabin A
person with disability.
According to blind people that participated in the research you have to inform the officials one month before the elections that you want to go and
take part in elections. Persons with disabilities assess this negatively:
There was a demand that we should contact the election commission one month

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before the elections and tell them our problems and I dont agree with this. Maybe I dont want anyone to know whether Im going to elections or not, maybe I
dont want to tell this at all A person with disability.

16. Self-governments and women with disabilities

Women with disabilities that participated in the research claim that a separate problem is the participation of women with disabilities in the implementation processes of the local self-government. To be more concrete the
involvement of women with disabilities in the local government:
The most possible option is to allocate money for preparing women with disabilities for becoming candidates at the elections of the local self-government. It
seems that nobody bans you but you dont have a real possibility to realize rights.
If you dont have equal start-up conditions how will you manage that? You need
elemental moving. At the same time even among persons with disabilities the
men are preferred. The group of employed persons with disabilities confirms this,
because none of them is woman A woman with disability.

17. State action plans

The persons with disabilities that participated in the research pointed out an
issue of fulfillment the obligation of ensuring equal possibilities for persons
with disabilities considered in the 2014-2016 action plan by Tbilisi city municipality. They say that the action plan obligates the local self-government
to implement concrete activities. But after developing the plan there wasnt
developed an effective plan of implementing the included obligations in
Tbilisi city municipality, the amount was not allocated and this excludes the
implementation of considered issues:
Unfortunately the budget in Tbilisi city municipality wasnt appropriately planned
and the action plan couldnt be activated. One thing is the general obligations included in the action plan and another issue is how you start implementing them,
what concrete activities will you implement A person with disability.

III. Conclusion
According to the results of the research, the main obstacle for the promotion
of independent living, protection of rights and involvement of persons with
disabilities in the activities of society and local self-government is the lack of
appropriate attention from the local government and absence of long-term

25

effective programs.
One of the most disturbing factors for persons with disabilities to get involved in the activities of self-government and live independently in general
is the absence of adapted municipal transport and physical government. According to the results of the research we may say that the needs of blind and
cecutient people must be primarily considered in the process of adaptation
of transportation infrastructure.
At municipal level there are no programs of employment and upgrading qualification of persons with disabilities. According to the results of the research,
the important problems for the persons with disabilities are the attitude of
society, the issue of accessibility of recreational/sport institutions. The issue
of equal conditions at elections was pointed out, because this disturbs some
persons with disabilities from participating in elections of local self-government. The existing pre-school educational system in Tbilisi city cant provide
the qualitative inclusive pre-school education for children with disabilities
and therefore these children arent completely and effectively involved in the
educative process.

IV. Recommendations
1. Tbilisi city hall and city council
Tbilisi city hall must procure the adapted public transport (buses, mini buses,
taxis) that will consider the needs of persons with movement problems and
sensory disorders too;
The persons with disabilities must be included in the process of procurement
of adapted municipal transport to develop an appropriate mechanism;
Along with the procurement of adapted transport, the adaptation of the stations must be implemented, regarding the needs of persons with movement
problems and sensory disorders too;
The metro station University should be built in accordance with universal design principles;
Tbilisi city hall should provide the retraining of the drivers of municipal transport in the issues of the needs of persons with disabilities;
The commercials on the buses must be limited, because they disturb the ori-

26

entation of cecutient people;

Moving and parking of automobiles on the carriageway of pedestrians must
be regulated and implemented in practice, because its a problem for blind
and cecutient people;
There must be made a surface that will ensure the independent moving of
blind and cecutient people in the metro stations;
The rules for guide dogs and their movement in metro stations must be developed;
There must be created an effective and transparent mechanism for the full
involvement of persons with disabilities in the activities of the local self-government;
In addition to the central districts, the adaptation of street crossing for people with wheelchairs should be done in suburbs too;
All administrative buildings should be adapted in accordance with needs of
all persons with disabilities in order to provide their involvement in the activities of local self-government;
There should be implemented an effective system of supervision for monitoring the correspondence of the adaptation of buildings to the appropriate
standards;
Web-pages of Tbilisi city hall and council should be adapted for blind and
cecutient people;
There must be introduced a form of spreading public information accessible
for blind people;
There must be developed a plan for fulfillment of obligations included in the
2014-2016 state action plan about the provision of equal possibilities for persons with disabilities in Tbilisi city hall;
At the municipal level there should be developed a system of long-term programs for employment and upgrading qualification of persons with disabilities;
Tbilisi city hall should develop a long-term plan for raising the awareness of

27

society in regard with the issues of persons with disabilities;

The elections environment should be refined and become fully accessible for
every person with disability;
Tbilisi city hall should provide the adaptation of recreational zones and sport
complexes in regard with the individual needs of persons with disabilities of
all categories;
Tbilisi city hall should provide those rehabilitation programs for children with
disabilities that arent covered by the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social
Affairs of Georgia;
The needs of persons with disabilities must be determined within all programs of Tbilisi city hall and an effective mechanism for their involvement in
these processes must be developed;
The qualification of the educators of kindergartens should be raised to ensure the needs of children with disabilities and their involvement in the educative process;
To ensure the high quality of inclusive pre-school education, the specialists
with appropriate qualification should be employed in every kindergarten in
Tbilisi city;
Tbilisi city hall and an agency of management of kindergartens should develop a plan for a concrete period to decrease the quantity of children in groups;
There should be implemented an effective monitoring system to check the
quality of pre-school inclusive education service among children with disabilities and give corresponding recommendations.

2. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs

The rules of giving vouchers within the state sub-program of provision of
wheelchairs and prosthetic and orthopedic products should be created in
such way that in case of demand and submitting affirmative documents an
appropriate amount should be granted instead;
Wheelchairs should be given in short terms;
The individual needs of persons with disabilities should be considered in

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state insurance package;

The medical staff and mainly the specialists of primary health care must be
provided with a special guideline, created individually for the needs of persons with disabilities of all categories;
The number of vouchers of early rehabilitation and development of children
with disabilities and the amount of money provided by the voucher should
be increased.

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