THIRTEEN PERCENT OF ARMENIANS ARE SENIOR CITIZENS
ARMENPRESS
Oct 02 2007
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 2, ARMENPRESS: Almost 13 percent of Armenia’s
population or 400,000 people are senior citizens. According to Jemma
Baghdasarian, head of a department of the employment and social
affairs ministry, dealing with senior citizens and disabled people,
35,000 of them live alone and 12,700 have no heirs.
Sona Arakelian, a program coordinator of the Mission Armenia
non-governmental organization, said an old-people house (Social House)
is being built in Yerevan’s Kanaker-Zeytoon district. It will give
shelter to 30 old-aged people and 2 insecure families living now in
a hostel in a Yerevan suburb.
The Social House will have a charity canteen, a free medical point,
a laundry, a barber’s shop, a dentist, a cafe, a gym and even a
computer room.
This project is being carried out in cooperation with the Swiss
Development and Cooperation Agency, Germany’s embassy in Yerevan, UNHCR
and the Norwegian Refugee Council in concert with Mission Armenia NGO.