The Rotary Club of Newport Uskmouth

"Make Dreams Real"

Kutaisi Georgia

 
Georgians visit to Newport Uskmouth Rotary

Two members of the Kutaisi Newport International Association, Koba Lomidze second from the right and Levin Tkeshelashvil first from the right were hosted by two Rotarians from Newport Uskmouth, Brian Cox and Rev Mark Soady who had visited Georgian as part of a delegation from St Woolas Cathedral some months earlier.

Levin is a church historian at the prestigious Gelati Theological Academy Koba is a lecturer in English at the University and is well known to many in Newport because he acts as an interpreter both for people visiting Kutaisi from Newport but also accompanying delegates from Kutaisi to Newport.

At a second visit Koba gave a moving account of the conditions in which the refugees from the war with Russia were living in Kutaisi.

After the meeting the club voted to donate 500 pounds to the appeal that had been set up by the Newport Kutaisi Association to assist the refugees.

The link between members of Newport Uskmouth Rotary and Kutaisi goes back many years, the President Lyn Oelmann travelled to Kutaisi as part of the Kutaisi Newport Association  in 1994 to develop links with the University in Kutaisi which continue to flourish and grow.

Koba wrote in the Kutaisi Newport International Associations news letter

“It was a great honour for us to visit the Rotary Club of  Newport Uskmouth. Many of our friends including Colin Mason, Mark Soady and Brian Cox are members of this club. The president of the club Mr. Lyn Oelmann is also an old friend of Georgia. Talking with him we remembered old Kutaisians who were involved in the twinning years ago. Some of them including Mr. Archil Kostava unfortunately is no longer alive. We are very grateful to the Rotary Club for their support in difficult period for Georgia.”

The web link for:

The Newport Kutaisi Association is http://www.nkta.org/kutais002.html

Kutaisi Newport International Association is http://www.knia.ge/