Author: Lena Karagyozian

YEREVAN — In the framework of the EU funded “Emergency Aid for Displaced Families from Nagorno Karabakh” RRM action implemented by the Children of Armenia Fund 150 displaced families will receive support.

Through the 60,000 Euro Action, 150 displaced families currently residing in COAF beneficiary villages of the Aragatsotn, Armavir, Lori, Shirak, and Tavush regions will be provided with aid packages (including food, winter clothes, hygiene and health supplies) and 450 children will receive stationary.

Thanks to the contribution of the Lithuanian Embassy in Armenia intended for the population affected by the conflict, 35 children will receive tablets, and 70 children will receive school bags and stationary. In addition, 150 families will benefit from the psycho-social, health, and speech therapy services, upon need. The distribution of the aid packages will be completed by the end of February 2021.

On February 11, EU Ambassador to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin and the Ambassador of Lithuania in Armenia Inga Stanytė-Toločkienė visited the COAF Yerevan office, where the parcels for displaced families were being prepared for distribution.

“COAF highly values this special partnership with the EU Delegation in Armenia. It is not the first project we are implementing together to react to a crisis. After our successful partnership in supporting rural families to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, we now stand by the displaced families from Nagorno Karabakh who found shelter in our beneficiary communities,” highlighted COAF Managing Director Korioun Khatchadourian.

“This is the European Union’s second cooperation with COAF under the Rapid Response Mechanism. I hope that together we are managing to ease the difficult situation of many people who lost their homes or were otherwise affected by the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh. As usual, it is our pleasure to cooperate with help those who need it the most,” mentioned EU Ambassador to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin.

The ultimate objectives of the Action include covering the immediate needs of the displaced families, as well as providing policy recommendations to the RA Government-level decision makers to address the future needs of the displaced families.

The Action is implemented in partnership with the Armenia’s Labor and Social Affairs Ministry and is coordinated with the regional administration offices and local municipalities to identify the families from Nagorno Karabakh in the target villages and exclude the possibility of duplication of the aid provided to the same family.

The Member States of the European Union have decided to link together their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders.

The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that employs community-led approaches aimed at improving the quality of life in rural Armenia, with a particular focus on children and youth. COAF’s target development areas are education, healthcare, social and economic development. COAF launched its programs in 2004, starting in one village and expanding to 64 villages in Armavir, Aragatsotn, Lori, Gegharkunik, Shirak, and Tavush regions, impacting more than 107,000 beneficiaries.

Since 2015, COAF has been implementing the SMART Initiative. COAF SMART is designed to advance a generation across the rural world through education that will benefit individuals, societies, and the environment. As an exemplary model, COAF SMART will be replicated in other regions and communities throughout Armenia. The first COAF SMART Center was inaugurated on May 27, 2018, near the village of Debet, Lori Region.