Habitat For Humanity Armenia
Yerevan 0037, Cholakyan street, No.38
Tel: (+374 10) 246 023
Cell (+374 91) 206 468
Email: [email protected]
His Holiness Karekin II Work Project’ Begins
Volunteers to help eradicate poverty housing in Armenia
YEREVAN, Armenia (April 6) – Buckets, shovels and trowels will swing into
action next week, as building begins to lift 37 families from poverty
housing in Armenia.
The second annual "His Holiness Karekin II Work Project" kicks off in
Armenia April 10. Volunteers from around the globe will descend upon
Armenia, to build homes side by side with homeowner families, local
sponsors, volunteers, dignitaries, and monks from the Armenian Apostolic
Church.
"The Armenian Apostolic Church is delighted to launch this event once
again with Habitat for Humanity. It’s not only a celebration of people
coming together to help families in need, but it’s also an important step
toward removing the blight of poverty housing in Armenia," says Archbishop
Vicken Aykazian of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
During building events around the country from April through October, 37
homes for families in need will be completed in Armenia, symbolizing 36
worldwide Dioceses, plus the Holy See of Mother Etcmiadzin. His Holiness,
Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians, is expected to bless the event’s
official opening at the Etchmiadzin Gevorgyan seminary on April 10.
Churches and individuals are challenged to fully sponsor, or to contribute
to a home. The Catholicos Project Family Sponsorship Cost (FSC) for 2007
will be $7,360, which is an average of renovations and half-build homes.
The first building event kicks off with a volunteer team coming from the
U.S. Volunteers will be working on "half-build" homes, many of which were
left unfinished after the economic collapse in the early 1990s in Armenia.
The Haroyan family of the Khor Virap village is the first selected among the
37. Sahak, 43, and his wife Piruza, 36, are vegetable farmers, currently
residing in a neighbor’s basement with their three children, aged 18, 16,
and 14. Economic strife forced the family to the basement for seven years,
as they have been unable to raise enough funds to complete their own home.
Piruza suffers rheumatism in her legs due to the humidity. "If you help us
we will finish and move to our new house by the next winter," Piruza tells a
visiting Habitat team.
The Armenian Church signed a historic partnership with Habitat for Humanity
in April 2006, aimed to combat poverty housing in Armenia, and worldwide.
The first "His Holiness Karekin II Work Project" was held in Gavar, Armenia,
where a building was renovated for 24 families, with an additional 13 homes
being built around the country.
In Michigan in 2005, the Catholicos participated in the annual home blitz
build, the Jimmy Carter Work Project, where he met with President Carter.
Following that, the Catholicos gave his blessing for a home-building event
to be created and held in Armenia.
In Armenia, a country of 3 million nestled in the southern Caucasus, more
than 40,000 families live in poverty housing. Over the past decade, a
devastating earthquake, conflict, the Soviet Union’s collapse, and a
newfound independence have led to economic crisis. Thousands still live in
metal "domiks", iron containers used for temporary earthquake relief, which
act like refrigerators in the winter; and boilers in the summer. Habitat
for Humanity Armenia has been working with families in need since 2000, and
provided homes for more than 1,400 people.
About Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is a nondenominational Christian charity dedicated to
eliminating poverty housing. It has built more than 200,000 houses; more
than one million people are living in Habitat homes they helped build and
own through low-cost, no-profit mortgages. We have positively affected lives
in nearly 100 countries around the globe.
For more information about Habitat for Humanity in Armenia, please visit: