Report from BHW Armenia Partnership Facilitator Following Visit 5-10 August

Hratsh (Harry) and his wife Clara are the leaders of the Armenian Christian Mission (ACM). They are based in Australia and were leading a team to Armenia at a time that neatly tacked on to the end of my trip to Tanzania and Rwanda. I arrived to travel with the team for five days. 

Recent Events

Current Situation

ACM has grown in Armenia during the Covid pandemic. They have had several donors assist them with obtaining two good buildings, one as a base in Yerevan and one as a base in Gyumri. They currently have nine staff on the ground as social workers with about 145 families. They also run other programmes and receive and distribute containers from outside the country - Australia and the USA.  

Support of Families

It is tough maintaining support of the current families. They are truly poor, mainly women with several children and a great deal of serious medical issues. There seems to be a lot of mental health issues, quite a lot of it genetic, as well as issues created by living in sub-standard housing. 

I spent time talking with Hratsh about the way forward. Because the women are so poor it’s hard to train them. Some have been assisted with loans to start small businesses as they had some skills. However, many women are vulnerable and when they get money, they often don’t have the ability to manage it well. 

Housing, employment, health and education are the main issues. They will struggle to stop the support with the current mindset. However, it is hard to see a different way forward for many of the families. Even if people get a house, it is difficult for them financially as they have increased costs, rates, utilities, R&M etc. 

A couple of the families have received houses in the past couple of years. They are so happy, one woman with a family has never lived in a house, only ever in temporary accommodation.  

New Leader Profile

Ashot and Hashmik are a lovely couple who have been working with ACM for a couple of years. They have a daughter, Anna, 6 who is very bright and speaks good English as well as the two Armenian languages. Ashot is a Baptist pastor and together they oversee the work in Gyumri. Because of this, they look after the families we are supporting. 

Ashot speaks good English, and they work together visiting families. ACM has established a strong centre in Gyumri and there is a growing church as well. They purchased a property from a Cypriot brethren guy who was a missionary there but whose ministry was floundering. It has taken some time to work through the issues he left behind, but it is a wonderful facility. 

Personal Stories

Here are the profiles of some of the families we are supporting:

Aida  is a widow who lives with her daughter Tamara and son-in-law with their three daughters, Anna 11, Anie 10 and Armine who is 9. They live in an apartment in Vanadzor. Their financial situation is very precarious. Her son-in-law has no profession, and his salary is not stable. In a good month he might earn US$80 but that is the only income the family is able to get apart from the support from ACM. He ekes out a living by cutting firewood in the forest, collecting bottles for the refund, and finding scrap metal. Some days he comes back with nothing. Other days Tamara goes with him to help. 

Aida is not healthy with diabetes and terrible teeth which causes her a lot of discomfort. She is a member of the Baptist Church in Vanadzor. The family's spiritual life is at a low ebb, and they need prayer. 

Darinka is 38 years old and lives in Vanadzor. She is divorced, her husband ran away and left the family and now she brings up her three children by herself. Artak is 19 years old and serves in the Armenian Army. Aram is 17 and Arman is 15. They live in a rented house in the city. Their financial situation is dire. Darinka tries to work but she is not healthy, in fact, when we were there she had been in hospital for 12 days with kidney and other issues. They get financial support from ACM and apart from that their monthly income is around US$85 per month. Arman is stunted in his growth, and he needs treatment and ongoing assistance with medication. 

Vrezh and Anna have four children: Artyom 6, Mery 4, Elya 2 and baby Samvel. Vrezh has mental and physical health issues. They were living in a metal container in terrible conditions until May 2022 when they were given a house. A donor to ACM provided funds for a house for a needy family and they were selected. The previous place had no water, bathroom or toilet. ACM bought a basic house and renovated it for them. They are so thankful, it’s the first time they have ever lived in a permanent structure.  We visited them and they were so thankful. However, the children won’t sleep in their separate bedrooms! 

Their financial situation is very difficult. Vrezh does not have a stable income and has no training with which get a job. He scavenges for things to sell. Mery has an eye problem and needs surgery, but it is just not possible. They get a small amount from the government and US$60/month from ACM to assist. 

In March this year the parents became Christians. They are receiving assistance for both their physical and spiritual conditions. I visited them in their house, and they are so proud but have little idea about how to care for it or live in it well. They have enough land to grow a garden and Vrezh is trying but doesn’t have any idea how to go about it.

Ruzanna and Norair had four sons but two were killed, one in the army and the other in a car accident. They have a 35-year-old, Aram, and a 30 year old, Arkadi. They live in a metal container that is well past it’s used by date. It is a subhuman existence these people live. Norair has terrible back pain from hernias and needs surgery. Sometimes he gets work driving a car to get some money, but it’s very spasmodic, maybe once or twice a week only. He is registered as an invalid, but a government official took the document off him saying he is not sick. So now he doesn’t qualify for a pension. 

Aram has severe mental health issues and cannot work but gets a disability allowance of US$65 / month. With this he has to buy medicines and cannot work. Arkadi gets some work but not much, recently he had a month’s work in Yerevan. Ruzanna has had major breast surgery and is a believer.  They barely survive and get some financial support from ACM. 

Armenuhi is a solo mum whose husband left her. She now lives with a young man and her six children: Vahan 14, Eleanora 12, Milena 11, Vache 9, Hovhannes 2 and Angelina 1. The family now lives in an apartment supplied by the government which they received in 2019. 

They get quite a large allowance from the government for the children, but the rent and utilities take most of it. Baby Angelina has joint problems in her legs from birth. Aremnuhi has to constantly take her to the hospital. They have to do something soon as an intervention otherwise the effects will be irreversible. The young man she lives with, Koryan, does get some jobs from time to time to help with expenses.    

Current Issues and Challenges

They have several challenges including:

- The cost of shipping a container has increased two and half times since the onset of Covid. They are wondering if they can continue this aspect of ministry;
- The US$ has weakened against the local currency and at the same times, the cost of all materials has gone through the roof;
- The war in Ukraine has seen many Russian companies shift to Armenia because of the shortages, and the cutting of the internet in Russia. This has created a shortage of accommodation and an escalation of costs for housing, either purchase or rental.
- The cost of foodstuffs has increased because of the Ukraine crisis. Armenia is largely dependent on Russia for many staple products. 

Ideas for the Future

I talked to Hratsh on several occasions about how they shift from aid to development, and he is realising the need for this. They have seen some good results from basic training for those who can be trained. They have tried loans but none of them have worked. They do not have people on the ground in Armenia with a vision for economic empowerment, so it is always going to be an uphill battle. However, they have had good results from scholarships for bright kids for vocational training and some to university, so they are going to send thru a proposal for a scholarship programme. 

Comments

Because of the financial situation I would propose that we increase our regular support by 15 – 20%. There are many more they want to work with however, I did say that it would be better to do a good job with fewer. It is very hard though when you see the poverty in your face.