Ukrainian women benefit from healthy lifestyle and positive mental health sessions in Batumi Shuttle
The Batumi Shuttle for Ukrainian women is the first Shuttle to integrate a new Healthy Lifestyle and Mental Health component. Here, the inter-connectedness of physical, mental, social and economic well-being is focused on and a holistic approach to a healthy lifestyle fostered. Further, the importance of eating a healthy diet and how this connects to overall wellbeing was part of the sessions. It is important to note, however, that there is no “one size fits all” approach. What is important is that a healthy diet to promote one’s health, is affordable and adaptable.
According to the feedback from Shuttle participants, the sessions made them think more about their diet and also helped improve their overall mental well-being. “It came as a surprise to me that nuts and legumes play such a big role in our daily diet,” say both Oksana Grebenkova and Oksana Gorgiladze, recounting their initial reaction. Another participant, Victoria Panchenko adds that “after the session, I want to reconsider my diet, considering the recommendations.”
The women learned to better cope with stressful situations and navigate their emotions, without feeling anxious. By the end of the 3-month Shuttle programme, the women affirmed that their change in eating habits and sleep patterns led to them feeling more energised. This positive change was further accompanied by a steady decrease in the tendency to self-isolate, obsessive thoughts and feeling powerless. All participants were able to report that their overall quality of life has improved.
Batumi Shuttle is supported under the project "𝐸𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟-𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑎”led by the Center for Information and Counseling on Reproductive Health - Tanadgoma for Equality / თანადგომა თანასწორობისთვის - in partnership with Action Against Hunger South Caucasus, Women's Initiatives Supporting Group, The Union of Azerbaijani Women of Georgia / აზერბაიჯანელ ქალთა კავშირი and the National Network of Women With Disabilities შშმ ქალთა ეროვნული ქსელი. This initiative is supported byEuropean Union in Georgia.
𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 2015 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐴𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝐻𝑢𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆ℎ𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑒 in the South Caucasus region 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑖𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠. 𝐵𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠, 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑡. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠, 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑛𝑜𝑛-𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒, 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛-𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐ℎ.
