Habitat for Humanity Armenia| Contact information | HFH Armenia
Str. Hanrapetutyan 62, Apt. 47
Yerevan 0054
Armenia
Phone: +374 10543001
Fax: +421 252497073
E-mail: ivanyan@habitat.am
| | Web site | www.habitat.am
|
 | |  | |
| |
Armenia -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
World’s first Christian country tackles ‘deplorable’ housing
Armenia proudly calls itself the world's oldest Christian nation, having adopted Christianity in 301 A.D. Lying on the Silk Road and wedged between Persian, Turkish and Russian empires, the country has seen its share of passing merchants, holy men and invading armies. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia declared independence and is now a landlocked country in the Caucasus, its borders closed with Turkey and Azerbaijan but open to Georgia and Iran.
|
The outside of a home in need in Armenia.
|
|
|
|
Ellada Manasyan lives with her three young children, in this deserted and crumbling Soviet-era building.
|
|
|
|
After the 1988 earthquake, thousands of Armenians moved into "domiks". They were intended as temporary shelters, but many still live in these cold rusty boxes.
|
|
|
|
Volunteer Liana Hakobyan and her sister Elya working on Vartiter Hovhannisyan's house during the World Habitat Week.
|
|
|
|
Volunteers renovated Lyuba Stepanyan's house.
|
|
|
|
Vachik Sarkisyan and his three year-old son Davit in their family's rundown house. Construction is underway on their new Habitat home.
|
|
|
|
Habitat homeowner family in Khachik.
|
Armenia’s transition to a market economy was marred by the severe Spitak earthquake of 1988, which killed 25,000 people, and a violent conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno Karabagh region from 1988-94, resulting in thousands of deaths and 1.4 million refugees.
A significant part of Armenia’s housing stock is in “deplorable” condition and continues to deteriorate. The drop in household income that accompanied economic transition limited investment in housing repairs and maintenance, as did a lack of household experience and information in regard to ownership responsibilities.
The 1988 Spitak earthquake destroyed much of the housing stock in the north of the country. As a result, 5 percent of the population of Armenia continues to lack permanent shelter. About half of these people live in inadequate temporary shelter. Further, in Armenia, almost every building in the country is considered to fail seismic safety requirements.
Habitat for Humanity in Armenia
After nearly eight years of work in Armenia, Habitat for Humanity re-launched its country organization in June 2008 to serve more low-income families at an exponentially faster rate, and to become an advocate for better housing policies and practices aimed at those living in indecent housing conditions.
Habitat for Humanity Armenia tackles poverty housing through a variety of efforts, including the construction of affordable, efficient, earthquake-safe houses; the completion and reinforcement of half-built homes; the renovation or improvement of existing dwellings through small, affordable loans; implementation of water and sanitation facilities; and advocacy of improved housing policies for low-income families.
In Khachik, Armenia, a town on a high plateau on the Azerbaijani border, HFH Armenia is aiming to eliminate substandard housing in an entire village. Eighty-seven percent of the 1,000 or so residents of the town live in inadequate shelter. Shelter, however, isn’t the only problem in Khachik, so HFH Armenia has partnered with Yerevan-based Urban Foundation for Sustainable Development to investigate economic development opportunities to help grow families’ incomes.
At the same time, Habitat for Humanity Armenia has developed a roof-replacement program in Nshavan, a village in the Ararat valley with harsh climate conditions, characterized with unbearable heat in the summer, a rainy fall and spring, and snowy winters. Most roofs are made of asbestos, which is a health hazard for residents, and many roofs do not provide adequate insulation or protection from the elements.
The development of a “core house solution” is another key element of HFH Armenia’s work towards the elimination of poverty housing in Armenia, especially targeted at those families still living in metal containers or “domiks”. The core house will provide the basis of the first significant step towards a decent, affordable, durable housing solution, allowing expansion later, either with or without the assistance of Habitat for Humanity. This pilot program will start with 20 families, with a subsidized zero-percent interest loan.
Global Village
Volunteers form a core element of the local volunteer and community mobilization program. In particular the involvement of international Global Village teams who travel to “put their faith into action” is incredibly motivating for both the families and the community. As the first country that adopted Christianity, Armenia offers an amazing cross-cultural experience, as well as an amazing engagement opportunity in building with the families in housing need. HFH Armenia is hosting teams in Nshavan starting April 2009.
Habitat Highlights
- The first phase of a $3.7 million new housing loan fund was launched in partnership with Dutch International Guarantees for Housing (DIGH) and Armenia-based First Mortgage Company (FMC), which will allow for significant scaling of Habitat’s construction and renovation lending programs. Nearly 1,200 families are expected to be served by the program in its first two years.
- Habitat for Humanity’s volunteer build program was relaunched in the country in October 2008 with its “World Habitat Build” in Nshavan, raising the issue of poverty housing both nationally and internationally and paving the way for future volunteer events and global village teams in 2009.
- HFH Armenia launched its “Rebuilding Khacik” project aimed at restoring an entire village near the Azerbaijani border supported by the Simone Foundation, the Armenian government and the mayor’s office.
|