In 2014, UNFPA Georgia published a study Men and Gender Relations in Georgia which showed that 82% of men living in Georgia did not read books to their children aged 0-6. In order to raise awareness about this issue and positive effects of involved fatherhood we launched a campaign Daddy, Read Me a Book. As part of the campaign, we held book reading sessions in public spaces, which were attended by fathers and children.
Soon after, we decided to publish a variety of children’s and parent’s books to further raise awareness and engage more fathers.
In 2020, we published our latest book, Luna and a Planet of Fireflies, authored by Dato Gorgiladze and illustrated by Tatia Nadareishvili.
Luna and the Planet of the Fireflies is a story about a family where a mother and father equally share responsibility for their children and household chores, and as a result magical things happen around them. The book was published by “Palitra L” publishing house.
Later, the book was translated into Armenian and Azerbaijani languages. Asia Darabian worked on the Armenian translation, while Oktai Kazumov translated the book into Azerbaijani. The purpose of the publication is to highlight how important it is for men to be involved in raising children and in family affairs, for the well-being of women, children, families and society and the country in general, and to achieve true gender equality.
In 2020, MenCare Georgia and publishing house Artanuji released a publication “Fathers and Children”, which includes personal letters, diaries, and memories written by famous Georgian writers about and for their children. Here you will find the letters of Gela Charkviani, Zaza Khalvashi, Vakhtang Javakhadze and others.
In 2018, we published another tale for children and parents, Lullaby for Lily, the text of which belongs to the writer Aleksandre Lortkipanidze, and the illustrations are by artists – Sofo Kirtadze and Ekaterine Tabliashvili. Lullaby for Lily is the story of an ordinary family, where father and mother equally care for their children. The book was published by “Palitra L” publishing house.
The same year, Lullaby for Lily was printed in English and presented at the Frankfurt International Book Fair. It is worth noting that Lullaby for Lily has also been translated into Armenian and Azerbaijani languages to make it accessible to even more people.
In 2016, MenCare Georgia and publishing house Intelekt printed another commpilation of letters called “Children’s Reading”. The book combines texts written by famous Georgian writers about children and for their children. Here you will find the letters of Mikheil Javakhishvili, Paolo Iashvili, Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Tako Chiladze and others.