Mariam Kvanchiani: “If women were more involved in peacebuilding, trust would be restored more easily”

[Photo essay]

Mariam Kvanchiani, 25, is an internally displaced person (IDP) from Abkhazia, Georgia. Today, she lives with her husband and two young children in a refugee settlement in Tskaltubo, a city in the Imereti region of western Georgia.

Her family’s story is deeply tied to the war in Abkhazia: her parents fled from there in 1992 and, like many others, found shelter in a sanatorium repurposed for displaced families. Mariam Kvanchiani, the youngest of three sisters, was born and raised there.

“When they left Abkhazia, my eldest sister was just two years old, and my mother was expecting the second child,” Kvanchiani recalls. “After they reached safety, my father returned to his hometown, where the fighting was still raging. When the war ended, he came back again to find his family - my mother and my two sisters. At first, my parents and sisters lived in extreme poverty - sometimes with nothing more than one loaf of bread. By the time I was born, life had become a little easier.”

After finishing school, Mariam Kvanchiani enrolled at Akaki Tsereteli State University in Kutaisi to study journalism. After her first year, she married, became a mother, and devoted herself to caring for her family. Alongside caring for her household, she stepped forward as a volunteer, identifying the needs of internally displaced families and driving efforts to improve daily life in her community.

Thanks to her efforts, a kindergarten was opened in the settlement, and the community purchased mowing equipment to keep the yard safe and clean. This simple step reduced fears of hidden reptiles and allowed children to play safely outside. 

Volunteering entered her life in 2023, when she joined the Network of Women and Youth Peace Ambassadors, supported by the Charity Humanitarian Women Fund “Sukhumi,” UN Women, and funding from the Government of the United Kingdom. The network unites more than 200 women and young people living in 17 municipalities who have been displaced and affected by the conflict. Members contribute to local policymaking – addressing issues such as water shortages and poor living conditions – and play a role in broader advocacy processes. Kvanchiani is one of those active members.

“With the help of this network,” she says, “I have gained new knowledge and skills. It’s much easier now to find information that displaced people need. I learn what opportunities exist to solve our problems, and then I share everything with others. I do it for my people.”

Her work, and that of the other women in the network, is already yielding the results.

“Women’s activity and participation in these issues is very important, because they have great power,” Kvanchiani says. “I believe that if women are more involved in building peace and security every day, trust can be restored more easily.”

Alongside her peace and community-building efforts, she dreams of returning to her studies and becoming a journalist. “First, I will raise my children, and then I will focus on my education,” she says with determination.

The Network of Women and Youth Peace Ambassadors was created under the project “Accelerating Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Georgia,” implemented by UN Women in cooperation with the IDP Women Association “Consent,” the Women’s Information Center, and the Charity Humanitarian Women Fund “Sukhumi.” The project, which ended in 2024, was funded by the Government of the United Kingdom. Today, the Network’s work continues under the “Women Act for Peace and Security” project, funded by the Government of the United Kingdom.