In August 2018, the HETQ News agency of Armenia reported on Armenuhi Hakobyan and her family from Vazashen, a village in Armenia’s Tavush Province, just a few hundred meters from the Azerbaijani sharpshooters and artillery placements. Being so close to the border and with so many residents having difficulty making ends meet, life in Vazashen is very challenging.

Armenuhi’s husband had to work in Russia to support the family. For the past 15 years, the large family had been living in a two-room apartment on the second floor of a dilapidated building located at the entrance of the village. The housing conditions were very poor. There was no gas and during rainstorms, water would pour down from the roof. Climbing up and down the stairs was dangerous. The problem was not only the condition of the building that could collapse anytime, but its location at the entrance of the village, which was under direct target of the enemy. There were traces of old and new gun shots on the walls of the building. The family had to cover the windows which are on the enemy’s side so that the enemy would not see the lights and target them. It was a miracle that the family had survived in that building for so long. Due to lack of money they could not afford to buy a house in the village, nor in one of the neighboring villages. Armenuhi said the family didn’t have a way out of their situation.

When AMAA-Armenia learned about this family’s situation from the HETQ News Agency, they assisted the family by purchasing a house for them in the village, as well as building materials to make the necessary repairs. As a result, the family’s father returned home from Russia and began the house repairs. By the first quarter of 2019 most of the repairs were completed. AMAA’s act of charity had a dual effect. The family now has a safe house and the father is back home from Russia living with his family.

The AMAA expresses its gratitude to the donors who, with their generous support, enabled the Hakobyan family to overcome their living conditions and live both safely and comfortably.