Khachatryan family in Saralanj village celebrate house-warming thanks to VivaCell-MTS

For the Khachatryan family living in Saralanj village of Kotayk region, the New Year's miracle has already become a reality. After living in a decayed and rusty metal container for 20 years, the family finally moved to a stone house.

Armen spent much of his youth burdened with the housing problem. At first, he lived in his parents’ house with his newly formed family. The inconvenience of living in a small house with 22 people and the lack of alternatives forced them to take action. Armen and his family moved to a metal container and started building a new house at the same time. Due to constant social and health problems the construction of the house didn’t go far beyond the foundation.

“When we left our father's house, it seemed it would be difficult only in the beginning, and then, in a couple of years, we would have a home, live a deserving life. Years passed by, my sons grew up inside the metal walls, my wife's health was getting worse day by day. Even working day and night, it wasn't possible to cover the costs of the hospital and care the needs of the growing children, and to build a home. We spent twenty dark and awful years. Even today, when I wake up in this house, I can't believe that this is the reality, and my family's dream house has exceeded our expectations,” said Armen, the father of the family.

The Khachatryan family is not the only one that has overcome the problem of years with the support of partner organizations. Owing to the housing project implemented by VivaCell-MTS and the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia, 46 families living in 10 regions of Armenia have the opportunity to meet the New Year in their new houses. Hard memories are already in the past.

“With this housewarming we summarize the program of the current year. We first try to evaluate the work done in the eyes of the hosts, then only in the form of numbers. When we see confidence in tomorrow, we are convinced that we have succeeded and are going in the right direction. It is said that a person who has succeeded immediately forgets about the difficult days. Perhaps it is not so good not to stumble in the future, but I want these people to remove the sad images of the metal container from their memory and live a careless life. I am glad that thanks to our partnership, many families acquire not only a roof, but also the opportunity to believe in their own strengths,” said VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian.

“Life is full of difficulties. Sometimes problems accumulate on one's shoulder so much that it seems there will be no relief. Often, only a little help is needed for a person to believe in himself, to stand up and move forward. It was that helping hand the Khachatryans needed to relieve from the burden of years. The support of VivaCell-MTS to this and other families is invaluable; the families have a home, faith in themselves and in the future. May the hope be eternal in all homes on New Year's Eve,” said Fuller Center for Housing Armenia President Ashot Yeghiazaryan.

In 2019, for the implementation of the housing project, VivaCell-MTS invested AMD 119.5 million and supported 46 families. Overall, as a result of years of partnership, about AMD 502 million has been invested. Since 2007, the problem of 208 houses has been solved.