Group raising funds for Kutaisi

Columbia is trying to find a final salt solution for its sister city, Kutaisi, in the Republic of Georgia.

The Columbia Cares for Kutaisi Committee will meet at 10 a.m. today at Shelter Insurance Gardens to begin a fund-raiser for a permanent salt facility in Kutaisi. The public is invited.

Since 2001, Columbia has been sending iodized salt to Kutaisi, but the committee now hopes to do more. Organizers of the new drive want to provide money to set up an iodine testing lab, buy salt repacking machines, make and deliver salt, train employees and buy a delivery vehicle.

Kutaisi needs iodized salt because there is little access to iodine there, and children who lack iodine in their diets suffer from diseases such as thyroid goiter, as well as from developmental problems. Before Columbia’s efforts, it was estimated that more than half of all children in Kutaisi had an iodine deficiency. That number is now down to an estimated 28 percent, Blair said.

“Each day, every child needs a quarter-teaspoon of iodized salt,” Blair said. “If they don’t get it for months at a time, it starts causing problems.”

If the new drive succeeds, Kutaisi will be able to produce and distribute iodized salt without continuous help from Columbia. Trish Blair, president of A Call to Serve International, said that’s what the people of Kutaisi want.

“The thing that amazes me is how much the Georgians want to do for themselves,” Blair said. “They’re very brave, and they’ve gone through a lot on the way to democracy.”

The new facility would allow salt to be sent in bulk from Austria, volunteer coordinator Virginia Edens said. The bulk salt would then be repackaged and distributed from a warehouse already owned by ACTS International.

“If we had a repackaging machine, they could repackage in a minimum amount of time, and then it’s a permanent thing,” Edens said. “It is much more efficient.”

The facility would also reduce the cost of providing salt by as much as 83 percent.

The committee’s goal is to raise $100,000 to buy the necessary equipment. Deena and Barry Pryor have already donated one repackaging machine.

This campaign would end Columbia’s commitment to meet Kutaisi’s salt needs. Blair said ACTS would continue to help provide salt and packaging bags.

“We had a long decision about selling the salt to people in Georgia, but to hurt that one child is unforgivable,” Blair said. “ACTS will make a commitment to provide iodized salt free of charge.”