Friends in Deed: British charity makes life better for struggling >single women in Armenia> By Suren Musayelyan> ArmeniaNow reporter>> Margarita Baghdasaryan, 52, is a single mother who lives with her >18-year-old son Hakob in a 12-square-meter room in a hostel in the Kanaker >district of Yerevan.>>>> From this . . .>> Those bare details alone frame a life of hardship that is not easily >managed in a society so family-oriented and reliant on male leadership. And >it is a life made even worse by a general lack of organized care for those >of Margarita's situation.>>> But it is a life lately improved by the help of a London-based >charity, Friends of Armenia.>>> Presently, Friends of Armenia are completing a $90,000 renovation of >the hostel that houses some 90 families (about 180 residents). Most have >situations similar to Margarita; single women whose husbands left for work >in Russia and never returned, and some who were killed in the war in >Karabakh.>>> Most residents, too, are former employees (or wives of employees) of >the Lamp Factory, the company to which the four-storied building belonged. >(In Soviet times, factories provided hostels for employees who did not have >permanent residences.) Many are refugees from Azerbaijan.>>> The factory went out of business shortly after the collapse of the >Soviet Union and the hostel was transferred to the local government as a >housing for those who had fled Azerbaijan when conflict started in the late >1980s.>>> For more than a decade the hostel suffered the effects of daily wear >and tear, without the means for making it better.>>> About two years ago, the situation was brought to the attention of >Friends of Armenia, a non-profit organization started by London Diaspora in >2000.>>> At first, the charity ministered to the psychological needs of the >women.>>> "We first thought of sending a psychologist there to talk to them >and their children so that they can feel themselves worthy citizens again >and not people left alone without jobs and without hope," says Rouben >Galichian chairman of Aid Armenia and Executive Trustee of Friends of >Armenia, who spends some of his time in Armenia.>>> A team of three psychologists worked with about 50 single women >living in a nearby building. Most of them had become prostitutes. Galichian >says most of these women have proper jobs now - some are employed as >street-sweepers, others as laundry workers, waitresses, etc.>>> "Within just two years of work with them our psychologists managed >to convince them that they were worthy citizens of their country who had >found themselves in difficult conditions, which, though, never meant that >they were not worthy people," says Galichian.>>> But at 16 Banavani Street, Friends of Armenia went further, as they >decided to improve the living conditions in the hostel.>>> "When we went in first, we saw that the toilets there were a poor >sight, with ruined walls and big holes in the floor. There was no water >there. We repaired the toilets on almost all floors. I say almost, since >some rooms and toilets had been privatized and it is not our policy to >repair individual property," says Galichian. "We got a written letter from >the prefecture assuring us that the parts we repair will not be privatized >and will be for general use for the local residents.">>> The first repairs were completed in January, others were finished >recently. They are all clean and improved and according to Galichian, the >women take a good care of them.>>> "It has changed so much in our lives. We haven't seen such a thing >before even from the authorities," says pensioner Margarita, adding that >even hammering a nail is a problem for the hostel residents as most of them >are lonely women, some with small children, and some are disabled.>>> Three months ago Friends of Armenia also decided to repair and clean >the corridors and the staircases on all floors.>>> Works were launched, but the roof caught fire in an accident in >July, and repairs were suspended.>>> "But we will continue the work and will try to get the prefecture to >repair the roof before the start of rains," says Vahan Patvakanyan, a >physicist by training, who is one of the ten representatives of Friends of >Armenia here.>>> Patvakanyan is in charge of the hostel reconstruction project.>>>> . . . to this, with the help of UK charity>> "It is difficult for these women, most of whom live without >husbands, with small children under their care, to do the repairs >themselves. The majority of them do not have jobs, those who receive >pensions can hardly make both ends meet with the money they get from the >state," he says.>>> Susanna Muradyan, 53, a former employee of the Lamp Plant, has lived >in the hostel alone since 1989. "The situation here was terrible. This >project means a lot for us, as it has saved us from anti-sanitary >conditions," she says.>>> Marina Minasyan, 43, is glad Friends of Armenia has reached out for >them with this project. She only complains of her life in a small room that >she shares with another single woman.>>> "I appreciate the work of the psychologist who comes here regularly. >Talking to her is a great relief for me and gives me hope that one day I >will have a better life," says Marina.>>> Galichian says that psychological assistance is no less important >thing for most of these women who live in poor conditions. "We continue to >provide our psychological assistance to these lonely women. Whenever they >have a difficult situation in their lives or with their children they call >our psychologists and I am glad they feel the use for themselves and their >children," he says.>> In the summer of 2000 a group of British Armenian professionals >visited Armenia for the first time. They were very impressed with the >capability and the high level of education of the local people, as well as >their eagerness to learn and their drive to achieve something real, while >living under difficult conditions, despite the almost total neglect of the >authorities.>>> The group returned to London and founded the charity organization >the same year.>>> So far Friends of Armenia have realized projects worth a total of >$400,000 in Armenia, in various fields - from orphanages and old people's >homes, to schools, kindergartens, hospitals, hostels and whole villages.