25 December 2020
Open Society Foundations – Armenia, throughout its activities, has supported the protection of the rights of the diverse societal groups, especially the vulnerable ones. The war and its consequences have created a disastrous situation undermining the rights to life, physical and mental health, property, and ownership of thousands, as well as their access to quality education and health care. Along with the activities aimed at the protection of human rights, Open Society Foundations – Armenia continued to support the civilian population of Artsakh affected by the war, through announcing the beginning of the second phase of financing for humanitarian projects. In addition to the earlier-announced humanitarian aid of US $210,000, the Foundation is providing additional US $130,000 to support the families that have found refuge in Yerevan and Armenia’s regions.
The second phase will cover eight projects that with the Foundation’s financing will be implemented by non-governmental organizations, covering a wider geography, with a view to delivering targeted aid to families that have found refuge across the regions of Armenia. Overall, the humanitarian aid packages, which include food, winter clothes, hygiene supplies, bedding, household supplies, newborn care supplies, and other essential products, will reach over 3,000 individuals. The purpose of this aid is to mitigate the troubles faced by war-struck families during the winter months, to supply essential items to them, and to provide social, legal, and psychological support to them.
Here are the projects and their implementation geography, by regions (marzes):
- The non-governmental organization Youth Avangard will provide packages of food and hygiene supplies to 100 war-struck families living in the Armavir and Aragatsotn marzes, as well as free-of-charge legal, social, and psychological support;
- The non-governmental organization Young Syunik, which operates in the Syunik marz, will provide food support and, ahead of the New Year’s, holiday packages to 100 families that have found refuge in Kapan, Kajaran, and the nearby communities;
- The Goris Press Club will provide food, warm clothes, bedding, and household supplies, and, ahead of the New Year’s, holiday packages to 1,400 Artsakhis that have found refuge in the Goris, Tegh, and Tatev communities;
- The Martuni Women’s Community Council will provide support to over 600 persons that have found refuge in the Martuni community of the Gegharkunik marz, in the form of one month’s food supplies, winter clothes, bedding, household supplies, and New Year’s packages;
- The non-governmental organization Armenian Progressive Youth will provide support to eight guesthouses in the City of Yerevan and the Lori marz, which have hosted families from Artsakh, for staffing expenses, as well as the provision of food and hygiene supplies to the hosted families: this project will deliver support to around 200 Artsakhis;
- The non-governmental organization Mission Armenia will provide food to 500 families, and winter clothes and shoes to another 180 individuals: the aid will be provided to beneficiaries living in the Ararat, Gegharkunik, Kotayk, Lori, Shirak, and Syunik marzes and in the City of Yerevan;
- The non-governmental organization Women’s Support Center will provide bedding, winter clothes, and shoes to 150 adults and children that have found refuge in the Kotayk, Ararat, and Armavir marzes and in the City of Yerevan;
- The non-governmental organization Women’s Rights House will provide one month’s food and hygiene packages to 100 families, as well as psychological advice to beneficiary women and children that have found refuge in the cities of Gyumri, and Artik and in other communities of the Shirak marz.
Anahit Gevorgyan, the president of the Martuni Women’s Community Council, says that OSF-Armenia’s support is critical in mitigating the consequences of this humanitarian crisis. “During the war, by mobilizing quickly, we managed through the first phase of the support projects to help 400 persons that have found refuge in the Martuni district, by providing one month’s food, new warm clothes, bedding, and school supplies. In the second phase now, we will provide to around 600 persons New Year’s food packages, children’s gift packages, bedding, hygiene supplies, and whatever the families currently need,” says Anahit Gevorgyan. To coordinate the distribution of the aid, the organization cooperates closely with the regional government and the municipalities.
Goris Press Club’s president Susanna Shahnazaryan says that in the last 30 years, this is the second time that Syunik is hosting persons displaced from Artsakh. According to unofficial data, the Goris, Tegh, and Tatev communities, in which Goris Press Club will implement the project supported by OSF-Armenia, around 30,000 persons from Artsakh have found refuge. “Their majority did not even have one or two hours to leave their homes, so they need clothes and essential supplies. From the very first days, we used our organization’s savings and support from various other organizations to support them, but the problems are so numerous that state support is needed in order to deal with them. Neither organizations nor local governments are able to carry this burden on top of their current affairs,” says Susanna Shahnazaryan.
With funding from Open Society Foundations-Armenia, the non-governmental organization Women’s Rights House will provide food, hygiene supplies, and bedding to 100 women displaced from Artsakh to the Shirak marz. The organization plans to organize various rehabilitation therapies for children and parents impacted by the war, which need psychological assistance. “The assessments showed that everyone, especially the children, need therapies. The psychological counseling, especially in this period, relieves the stress and unstable mental conditions; various therapies to keep the children of displaced families busy will facilitate their development, socialization, and overcoming difficult mental conditions,” says Karine Davtyan, the organization’s president. She adds that sustaining these projects will help families impacted by the war to overcome the difficulties and the current situation sooner.
OSF-Armenia will continue collaborating with state and non-governmental organizations to expand the projects aimed at mitigating the consequences of the humanitarian crisis. All the organizations receiving support coordinate their activities with central and local government agencies.