Our History

With the disintegration of the USSR in 1989, came the severing of supply for many essentials for every region. Georgia was the first region to declare itself a Republic, and suffered immediate as well as long-term consequences from Russia's animosity. By the time the principals of the Georgian Foundation came to the Republic of Georgia, in 1992, there was widespread despair and desperation, and a nearly complete lack of medical care capacity. Merle McQueen, Charles Clemons, MD and Ward Flad, MD felt compelled to help the Georgian people reconstitute their capacity to provide basic medical care. From the first mission, the Georgian Foundation realized that the value and strength of humanitarian assistance is not in supplying needed things, but in the true capacity building, entailed in teaching and training the indigenous population to care for their own population. Similarly, the Georgian Foundation realized that they did not have the staff or resources to act alone, and that many endeavors require multiple elements, each with its own intricacies and skills. Thus, Georgian Foundation resolved to do each of its projects in conjunction with the leading available experts when needed, and primarily act as overall coordinator, as in "general contractor". The result has been a nearly 20 year track record of tremendously successful projects in widely varying fields of medical capacity building for the people and the country of the Republic of Georgia. In addition to its immensely valuable work in Georgia, the Georgian Foundation is now applying its skills, as well as its 'lessons learned', in the country of Zambia.