It was terrible, we were praying to reach Goris…/Multimedia

A family displaced by the war – about a new life

33-year-old Angela Sahakyan, who was displaced from Shushi in 2020, would never have imagined that one day she would have to start a new life with two small children, overcoming many worries and difficulties alone, from finding a new home to acquiring a new profession.

It was the third day of the 44-day war when, with her 8-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, who had just been operated on, she was forced to move to Ashtarak, Aragatsotn Marz, Armenia…

Angela says that she was very confused and scared when she came to Armenia, she didn’t manage to take anything except the documents. Fear silenced everything.

After being displaced, Angela and her children lived in her parents’ house for about 3 months, but it was too small for three families. Soon he had to rent an apartment and separate. Angela remembers that in the early days there were frequent thunderstorms in Ashtarak, the children constantly asked, “Mom, is that one of Shushi’s voices?”

Angela has been living with her children in a rented apartment for almost a year now. She works at a school, she is a cook’s assistant. The rent is low, but Angela tries to do everything so that her children do not need anything.

Angela has been participating in the program since August. She admits that the course organized by World Vision Armenia gave her the opportunity not only to update the knowledge she gained years ago, but also to acquire new skills.

Angela joined the “Available community social services” program under the guidance of Anahit Kurghinyan, social worker of Ashtarak community. One of the most important results of the project is the increase in the number of community social workers and the development of their skills. After the start of the project, within 5 years, the number of community social workers increased from 8 to 91, and in Yerevan – to 6.

“As a result of the courses, there are already successful initiatives, thanks to which the participants are now able to earn money and take care of the needs of their families,” says Anahit Kurghinyan and adds that both they and the participants are satisfied with the results of the program.

https://express.adobe.com/page/AbqTToYXjTtXw/

Multimedia story in Armenian 

Author Mery Matevosyan

Technical design by Sona Martirosyan