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Mets Parni village, Aragatsotn marz. On December 8, 2006 at 12:00 the official opening ceremony of the drinking water distribution reservoir of Mets Parni village will take place. The reservoir was reconstructed through the U.S. Embassy and USAID-funded Community Self-Help Fund (CSHF) program, which is implemented by Save the Children. Representatives of the US Embassy, USAID, Save the Children, Lori Marzpetaran, Mets Parni local government and the community will participate in the event.

Mets Parni village greatly suffered due to the devastating earthquake in 1988. Many residential buildings and social infrastructures were ruined. The entire water system became out of work too. The village was reconstructed in a new location, due to which it became consisted of two parts - new and old with 4km distance between them. 100 houses were constructed in the new village. A water pipeline with 19km length was constructed to ensure water provision of the village, but this work was not finished. A water reservoir necessary for daily water regulation was not constructed, and the pipeline was directly connected to the internal water network of the village. As a result, the water pressure was not regulated, which periodically caused damage to pipelines and absence of drinking water for weeks. Moreover, due to 30-40% of water loss several districts of the village did not get water at all, and people had to carry water from 1km distance. Water was not chlorinated, and no sanitary norms were maintained, which might cause epidemic outbreaks.

Given the acute necessity of reconstructing the water reservoir, the Village Mayor’s Office applied to Save the Children for a CSHF program grant.

Through the program the water provision system was renovated. A water reservoir with 300 cub m capacity and a water drainage pipeline were constructed, the surrounding area was improved, and the water provision and chlorination were regulated. 1870 residents (460 households) of the village benefited from the program. 8 people were provided with temporary jobs.

The total cost of the project was USD 23,325 of which USD 17,825 was provided by the Community Self-Help Fund, while USD 5,500 (about 24% of the project cost) was contributed by Mets Parni community in form of labor and construction materials. The sustainability of the program will be ensured by the Spitak branch of “Hayjrmughkoyughi” Water Company through the payments made by the population for water usage.