Joint Story: Collective Center Renovation - IOM, UNDP, UNHCR, UNO Yerevan

After the recent flare-up of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between 27 September and 9 November approximately 90,000 people, 88% of whom are women and children, have been displaced to Armenia. According to the Migration Service of Armenia, as of May 2021, 36,989 displaced people still reside in Armenia in desperate conditions. Since the outbreak of the conflict in 2020 many care centers/educational schools/shelters in Yerevan, Armenia opened their doors to welcome and accommodate the displaced families in need of shelter and care.

To address the existing needs of displaced populations affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Armenia three UN agencies, IOM, UNDP, UNHCR, under several initiatives, have initiated provision of critical assistance that included basic repair and technical improvements of shelters to ensure safe and dignified living conditions.

UNHCR: Safeguarding the wellbeing of the displaced women, children and elderly

Since the beginning of the displacement at the end of 2020, many state educational institutions and pedagogical-psychological support centres in Armenia opened their doors to welcome and accommodate the displaced families in need of shelter and care. One of those institutions was the Special school no. 17 operating under the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia that hosted more than 100 displaced persons, among them vulnerable women, children and elderly people. 

A quote from school management about the school's previous condition, challenges they faced and how things changed after the conflict, how were people adapting, what were their urgent needs, how the school was addressing them. 

“Without the support of UNHCR and other UN agencies, it wouldn’t have been possible to ensure the wellbeing of the families with vulnerable women, children and elderly – many of them with disabilities and special needs. You’ve provided the families with household items and hygiene and COVID-19 preventive tools, and warm clothing to help them endure the long cold winter they were not used to.”, said the Director of the Yerevan Special School no. 17. “UNHCR’s support is also extremely appreciated in terms of the renovation works, improvement of sanitary conditions and the technical assistance you provided at the school. Your timely and prompt actions ensured decent living conditions for the displaced families and their children benefiting from the psycho-educational support and recreational activities provided by the school.” -  she added with gratitude in her eyes.

Parallel to the genuine care and attention extended to the families, the teachers and psychologists of the School provided psycho-social counselling and support to the displaced children helping them overcome displacement-related trauma, enrol in schools, learn and develop.

A quote from a beneficiary about their life in Armenia and in the school, how was the situation when they first arrived, how was the adjusting, how is the life now, their daily life, kids’ life etc. 

“No words can express our deep appreciation to the School and to all those humanitarians who stand together with us, support and look after us. Without your care and attention, it wouldn’t have been possible to survive, raise our children and live a modest but dignified life”, said a displaced mother of three children expressing her thankfulness to the host community and UNHCR.

“While my Mom and Dad are engaged in the everyday issues, I can enjoy myself, play and ride my bike in our new home which is this big special school with wide corridors and large space”, said a little boy from a displaced family living in one of the rooms of the Special school No. 17 in Yerevan.

In the framework of the UN Armenia’s joint response to the NK crisis, including community support and capacity-building activities, UNHCR Armenia through its partner Mission Armenia NGO, accomplished renovation works and improved the sanitary conditions, and together with another UNHCR partner Armenian Red Cross Society, provided household appliances, hygiene items and COVID-19 preventive kits to support the displaced families and ease the burden of the School.

IOM: A shelter, which gives warmth and a feeling of safety to the residents

Days before snow was expected to fall, over 30 people from Nagorno-Karabakh are moving to Dzorak Social Care Centre for Persons with Psychiatric Disorders. IOM Armenia, through the emergency fund allocated by the Japanese government, improved the sanitary conditions by separating female and male toilets and renovated the wooden flooring of the corridors where unstable residents were tripping. The shelter is located in the outskirts of Yerevan city and features a home for as many as 141 residents - 68 men and 73 women. The IOM team visited the shelter to meet the residents and the caretakers of the center.

We spoke to one of the nurses about the challenges of elderly people from Nagorno-Karabakh faced during their stay: “For us it is to take time with a resident to discover more about the individual. Once I told A.[1], a resident who we accommodated after the conflict, that he is going to be fine here. After that he immediately opened up and told me how lucky he felt to be here. Our aim is to make sure that our residents are smiling, and it is very rewarding having someone smile back.”

A.  lives in the shelter for more than a year now and feels comfortable. He likes to keep himself busy with daily work in the shelter:

“I can take my showers daily to start a busy day. I keep myself busy with helping in the kitchen three times a day, I take care of the trees in the garden, we have many of them! And, I have some domestic animals, barron breed rabbits, that rely on me as well.”

A. spends a lot of time working in the garden area of the center with a large greenhouse, fruit trees, pavilions offering sheltered seating and access to small domestic animals. He is doing everything to be the “superman” of the center and he feels responsible for everyone’s wellbeing. Every day he asks his nurse if she is feeling well that day:

“I am worried about you - Քո մասին նիգյարան եմ”, - he says in his own dialect.

[1] Editor’s Note: A.’s first name was withheld for privacy reasons.

UNDP ’’Sustainable Communities’’ programme launched in 2020 with financial support from the Russian Federation has a goal to unite communities around the principles of Sustainable Development Goals, jointly enhance self-sufficiency, resilience to the crisis, and contribute to people's welfare as well as reduce asymmetries of territorial development in bordering communities in Armenia.

One of the core theses that the programme supports is that positive and healthy youth development is vital for every society for building the future as a better place to live. Young people, like never before, can contribute to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress, and inspiring changes.

To support youth living in border communities UNDP joined forces with WFP and the SIFI school feeding program to renovate and refurbish the most vulnerable schools located in the bordering communities of Armenia. 

After studying more than 30 bordering schools, the programme selected 10 institutions and initiated the full renovation. As a result, schools received fully renewed kitchens, canteens, storage, bathrooms, and internal water pipes. It was of great importance for the programme to renovate venues with the contemporary design and now bordering schools have colorful, and comfortable canteens that meet all sanitary and hygienic norms.

In some schools, the renovation activities went further by building sewerage systems with septic tanks to save the environment. And in Geghamasar settlement a roof was renovated, and new rainwater gutters were established to avoid the water penetration into the new renovated canteen.

The successful implementation of the initiative gave more than 500 children in bordering communities access to better health and hygiene facilities.

The school renovation project served as a key to unveiling other community needs. For example, during the school renovation, a need for an irrigation system was revealed in Khachik settlement of the Vayots Dzor region. The programme observations demonstrated, 60% of the irrigation water was lost during the land watering. As a result, the programme supported to building a new irrigation system for a plot of 45-ha for the direct benefit of 920 people. The newly built system maximizes the efficiency of the used water to 90%.