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Official press release by VivaCell-MTS

This spring one of the families having a half-built house in Katnaghbyur village of Aragatsotn region was included in the 2017 housing project financed by VivaCell-MTS and implemented by Fuller Center for Housing Armenia. 

The news of being included in the program came as a surprise for Haykaram Baghdasaryan’s family, who learned about it during the study visit of the partners. The support of collaborating parties created a prospect of having a home by the end of the year. Volunteers from the staff members and the heads of the partnering organizations joined Haykaram during the construction, too. Today, the Baghdasaryans were having a housewarming with the awaited guests.

Twenty years ago, the family managed to build only the walls and to install part of the roof decking; the half-built and roofless building remained open to snow and rain for many years. Everyday problems and difficulties didn’t let the family finish the construction works. Haykaram’s family - his wife and their three sons - had to live first at his paternal house, later rent a half-ruined house belonging to a co-villager. Their elder son, Argishti serves in the Armenian army, in Martakert. The other two sons are schoolchildren.

“The past seven months have been both the tensest, and the happiest time of my life. For many years we could not even dream of having a home; it seemed unreal. Today, my happiness is endless. Our family couldn’t wish for more ahead of New Year. Now I can say for sure that we will meet our son at our decent home,” shared the family father, Haykaram.

As a result of the partnership between VivaCell-MTS and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia, this year seven families completed the construction of their half-built houses. Eight more families have renovated, furnished or installed heating systems owing to Ralph Yirikian's personal donation.

“This family is one of the first beneficiaries of the housing program implemented in 2017. I remember their astonishment at the news of being included in the program, and I also remember the optimism in their eyes when the construction was underway. The dream of this family is reality today. I want to believe that the will of the family is as strong as these stone walls. The commitment to live in one’s own country, to protect what one has created, and the willingness to move forward have to be as firm as the foundation of this house,” said VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian.

“Another year of our cooperation is coming to its end: over six years it has become a pledge of prosperity for more than 150 families. Usually, our beneficiary families do not immediately feel the big change in their lives. Getting used to good takes time, too. However, years of experience prove that after the end of the program, over time, the family straightens its back and faces new challenges of the life with dignity,” Fuller Center for Housing Armenia President Ashot Yeghiazaryan said.