The six-year-old David is unwilling to talk about the shelter of his childhood, the metal container. He and his sister were born and raised experiencing the hardships of living in a confined area. Meline, who grow up without games and friends’ visits, confesses, that her mother never complained so as not to burden her father with hardships, instead, she taught them to dream and overcome the problems.
The Sargsyans from the village Vardenik now experience an important and positive change in their life. The harsh climate of Gegharkunik region is not a problem for them anymore. Thanks to the support of Viva-MTS and the “Fuller Center for Housing Armenia”, the family dream of building their two-storey house is now a reality. Yurik, who was injured during the 1992 war, started building his house adjacent to the metal container seven years ago, but could not complete the construction. Now everything has changed, the memory of hardships is now replaced with bright and positive emotions. A few more days, and the metal container will be dismantled for good.
“We have lived in a metal container. My children’s childhood-home was the metal container. It was difficult to raise children in such conditions. There was no place to move; it lacked basic utilities, we had to bring the drinking water from outside. It was very hot inside the metal during summertime and very cold during wintertime. Life was very difficult, but when you have to, you adjust to it. Now, everything is left in the past. We will return the metal container to where it was before after dismantling it,” said Armine, the young housewife.
Read also
“Feeling the changing predisposition of the home owners witհ every house that is built strengthens my faith in the housing program and our partnership. Throughout these years we have come across many families who have been in desperate situation. At times there have been more than one generations raised in metal containers or half-built houses. I am glad to see there have been positive changes in the lives of those families. If we have managed to inspire hope in the souls of people in despair then our efforts have been fully justified. Now they should do their best to forget the hardships of the past and should build a better future,” Viva-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian said during the video call.
“The existence of metal containers has become an evil in the lives of our people. The psychology of people has changed a lot over the years as they had to adapt to the situation. Adequate steps were needed to be taken to correct it and support our compatriots. In this regard, success may be reported for the project. Regardless of the conditions dictated by time, we manage to implement the housing project together and bring the families back to life,” said Ashot Yeghiazaryan, the “Fuller Center for Housing Armenia” President.
The heads of Viva-MTS and the “Fuller Center for Housing Armenia” consider important not only the visible result of the project, but also its psychological effect on the families. The dismantling of the metal containers and giving the families possibility to start a decent life has become an important goal.
###
Viva-MTS (MTS Armenia CJSC) is Armenia’s leading telecommunications operator, having the widest network reach and spreading a wide range of Voice and Data services all across Armenia. Having the best of the Armenian people interest at heart since its launch on the 1st of July Y2005, and in a short period of time, Viva-MTS has managed to build a nationwide network and a considerable customer base. Viva-MTS drives innovation and aims at always being at the forefront of any development serving the Armenian mobile communications market. The company follows the guidance provided by ISO 26000 (International Standard of Social Responsibility) and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (Information Security Management System). For more information, visit www.mts.am
Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (“MTS”) is the leading telecommunications group in Russia and the CIS, offering mobile and fixed voice, broadband, pay TV as well as content and entertainment services in one of the world’s fastest growing regions. Including its subsidiaries, the Group services over 86.8 million mobile subscribers in Russia, Armenia and Belarus. Since June Y2000, MTS’ Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about the MTS Group can be found at: www.mtsgsm.com
Fuller Center for Housing Armenia is a non-governmental, charitable organization that supports community development in the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh by assisting in building and renovating simple, decent and affordable homes, as well as advocating the right to a decent shelter as a matter of conscience and action. FCHA provides long-term, interest-free loans to low-income families. The monthly repayments flow into a Revolving Fund, which is used to help more families, thereby providing a financial foundation for sustainable development. Since 2008 the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia has assisted 1018 families. For more information, please visit www.fcharmenia.org or email us at [email protected]
