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Contact: Alla Asatryan
February 2020, Yerevan, Armenia
A family gets a home
of their own 32 years after the earthquake
The heads
and teams of Viva-MTS and the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia continue visits
to beneficiary families. This time the partners left for Gyumri to visit one of
the families assisted through the 2019 housing program; the family, living in a
metal container house, has now finished the construction of their semi-built house.
The teams had already visited the family last fall for a volunteering
initiative to participate in the construction of the house. Six months later,
everyone is back together, this time to celebrate a housewarming.
The
Tadevosyan family living in Gyumri had to live in a metal container for years
after the 1988 earthquake. 32 years later the hard memories are left behind.
“After so many years, finally, my family feels this
happiness. Having a home of our own is a big and awaited event in our life.
After the earthquake, we had to live in a metal container. And now we have a
home of our own with all necessities. Our happiness can't be put into words. We
are grateful beyond words,” said Kristina.
Owing to the housing project, 5 houses were built,
renovated or purchased in 2019; in the course of years overall 12 houses have
been built as a result of the partnership in Shirak region.
Viva-MTS
and the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia consider all aspects of the positive
impact of the project important. Heads of partner organizations reported that
families who already live in decent home strive to get rid of not only the
memories of the metal containers, but also by physically dismantling those structures.
“When a family who has spent years in a
metal container house, gets up on its feet to open a new page of life, it means
that it has the power to dream, and that is a good sign. And when that family
seeks to remove the iron shelter from the view, we can say that we have all
succeeded. I am glad to state that we have been particularly successful
recently. Gyumri should not remain a city of metal container houses whether in
memory or in terms of architecture,” Viva-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian
said.
“Families
living in metal containers are in the center of our attention. Since the
earthquake, this family has lived in a metal container. The childhood of three
children in this family passed inside the walls of the metal container.
Together with Viva-MTS we stretched a helping hand to the Tadevosyan family.
Now that they have finished the construction of their home, I am sure the new
home will bring joy and good memories,” said Fuller Center for Housing Armenia
President Ashot Yeghiazaryan.
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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
over 800 families. For more information, please visit or
email us at [email protected]