Columbia provides sister city with relief

Efforts to help Columbia’s sister city in the Republic of Georgia repackage bulk shipments of iodized salt will be one step closer to completion when two salt repackaging machines are shipped Monday.

The locally designed machines are part of an effort to help the city of Kutaisi combat iodine deficiency in children. Since 2001, Columbians have been asked to donate boxes of iodized salt, but the hope is that Kutaisi will now be able to repackage its own imported salt.

A brief send-off ceremony will be held at 9:30 a.m. Monday at Premier Moving and Storage, 2207 Nelwood Drive.

Columbia set a goal of $100,000 this year to finance the center and raised $30,000 in donations.

The plan was to purchase a building in Kutaisi, but not enough money has been raised to renovate the building to food-grade standards. As a result, the repackaging center will be housed in another food production facility.