Abkhazia Institute for Social and Economic Research

In 1998 the first lady of Georgia Sandra E. Roelofs founded the SOCO Foundation (www.soco.ge) a charitable non-governmental organization which conducts humanitarian projects for the most vulnerable groups sponsored by both Western-European and Georgian companies and individuals. The SOCO Foundation as of 2007 is mainly focusing on reproductive health and care for newborns.
From 1999 to 2003 Ms Roelofs was a free-lance business consultant for mainly Dutch companies interested in business opportunities in Georgia. At the same time she was coordinator for a management know-how transfer program funded by the Netherlands government and she was a visiting lecturer of French language at Tbilisi State University. From Fall 2003 she switched to the Caucasus School of Business, a private educational institution where she is presently teaching French to students.