Everything for the sake of Artsakh. Benefactor Sona Vardanyan from Prague

Sona Vardanyan was 14 years old when she settled in Prague with her family. Since then she has spent almost every summer vacation in the homeland. She says that every Armenian living outside the homeland will understand that her heart still shrinks when she thinks about Armenia.

34-year-old Sona manages to combine family and caring for her two children with a successful business. She has her beauty salon in Prague – “Sonata”.

After the war unleashed by Azerbaijan on September 27, Sona’s Beauty Salon became a gathering place for local Armenians.

“Mostly Czechs work in my beauty salon, I do not have Armenian employees. A few days after the war, I realized that I could not sit idly by, I was constantly in Armenia with my mind. I called and arranged a meeting with all the Armenians I know who work in the field of beauty. We decided that every weekend we would hold a charity event in my hall, directing all the money we received for our services to the people and soldiers who had been temporarily transferred to Armenia from Artsakh after the war. On the first day, we hoped to earn at least 1000 euros. At the end of the day, when we started counting, it turned out that 6,000 euros had been raised. At the same time, each service did not have a clear value, each customer paid as much as whished, “says Sona.

After the successful action, Sona and her friends decided to take the initiative mobile. Similar actions were taken in other major Czech cities, such as Brno, where there is a large and united Armenian community. Although most of the donations were made to Armenians, Sona is happy to say that 70% of the donors in Prague were Czechs.

“It simply came to our notice then because it meant that ordinary people were not indifferent to the tragedy that befell us. “That thought gave me hope in those difficult days,” she recalls.

The charity action continued throughout the war. Four days after the start, however, another “lockdown” was announced in the Czech Republic due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the presence of empty streets, curfews, severe punishments, the presence of many police officers, even Sona did not stop her activities for a day with her friends.

During the war, about 40,000 euros were collected during the action, which was sent in the form of humanitarian aid to Artsakh refugees, the army, as well as the Goris hospital.

To make the help more systematic and targeted, Sona and 7 friends founded the Give me hope NGO, headquartered in Armenia.

Shortly after the announcement of the ceasefire, in late November, Sona came to Armenia to get acquainted with the problems on the spot, to assess the urgent needs. She says that the most horrible hours were spent in “Erebuni” MC, “I reached the gates of hell”.

Before coming to Armenia, Sona had already contacted OTTOBOCK company, which is engaged in the production of state-of-the-art prostheses.  As a result of the meeting with a doctor, 5 boys wounded in the war were selected, whose prosthetics will be performed in Prague.

Returning to the Czech Republic, Sona held a three-day action before Christmas. The initiative was joined by photographer Pavel Moteil, who donated all the proceeds from his holiday photo to the “Give Me Hope” NGO.

Many soon heared of Sona’s initiative. A few days later, she received an invitation from the Czech Prime Minister’s Office.

“I went to a meeting, which was also attended by the leaders of OTTOBOCK, who expressed readiness to provide a 33% discount for their work for humanitarian purposes. This great gift allowed us to include two more boys in the program. We know that together with boys will have very difficult days and trials, but I am sure that we will overcome them. “We have also reached an agreement with the Czech military hospital that if the boys need additional treatment or medical intervention in addition to prosthetics, the hospital will take care of it again on a humanitarian basis,” said Sona.

Sona says all this would have been impossible without the full support of her family. The Czech husband not only encourages his wife but also deals with all paperwork.

“My husband has always loved Armenia and Armenians. Due to Covid, he faced serious difficulties like many other businessmen. When I felt very disappointed, I asked him to come to Armenia with me to see what the real problems were. I am very grateful to him because all this would not have happened if he had not stood by me, “says Sona.

The documents of 3 of the boys waiting for the prosthesis are almost ready, they are waiting for a visa at the embassy. Sona says the closer they get to the goal, the harder it becomes to endure. Her heart is still heavy, but she hopes it will lighten when one of the boys starts walking again.

Full text in Armenian