Stories Untold - Return of Georgian Migrants: Niura Nikabadze

"I went to school in Partkhanakanebi, then moved to Kutaisi and worked as an economist for the bank for 40 years. When I left the job, I had no savings, no more income and no pension yet. So, I decided to go to Greece and help my children at the same time. 

I left Georgia in 2006 and spent 12 years in Greece. I was lucky, I was always working with good families there. I came back in 2018. In all my years of working, I did not have any days off.  When I was in emigration, I went by bus once a month to send money to my family and I went back to work by the same bus. Now I am back home and I have a family café - ice-cream parlor in the centre of Kutaisi. The International Organization for Migration bought an ice-cream machine for me after my return to Georgia. I have 7 people employed and we are thinking of expanding our business; I make waffles myself, at home and I bring them every morning. I enjoy working in the kitchen too.

This place makes an impact on the city because there are not many cafés like this in Kutaisi. People of all ages visit our café and I think they are satisfied, which makes me very happy.

Our pizza is already popular in Kutaisi, but we want to expand our menu. We’ll see what comes out of it."
 

Photo: Dina Oganova