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With joy we help to build a house for you

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"Look at this view, you can not see such a scene in Yerevan," Aronyan says pointing at Ararat Mountain.

Volunteers of different ages and professions from Armenia and United States came to the village specifically to help rural families to raise their house, representing Habitat for Humanity international organization which provides long-term, non-profit loans for the contraction of the houses. While the organization deals with legal issues, the volunteers put their backs to the task of getting up houses.

The Aronyan family is one of the three families being supported by Habitat for Humanity in Khor-Virap and is one of 297 families’ who have benefited from the Armenian office of Habitat throughout the country. The organization has allocated 3 million dram ($8,500) to complete the works on the house which the Aronyans started to construct 10 years ago.

“For 10 years each year we were managing to go little ahead,” says Sahak Aronyan, the head of the family of five.

“The first years went on laying a foundation, the following on raising the walls. Then it stopped as there was no financial means.”

“Already hopeless we learned about the organization which provides loans for 20 years. We applied and it worked. We hope to finish by August,” says Aronyan who currently with his family live in the basement of his relatives’ house.

The Armenian Habitat for Humanity supports community development in the country by assisting in building and renovating decent and affordable homes. Homeowner families are chosen by Family Selection Committee according to their need and ability to repay a loan.

Habitat for Humanity provides not only the loans but the volunteer’s labor with groups regularly visiting different houses under construction throughout Armenia.

The Aronyan’s house construction was joined by the group of nine from Texas, United States who are the members of “Thrivent Builds” organization which cooperates with Habitat for Humanity.

Martha Wilkins from the U.S group says they enjoy working in Armenia, even though the contructing materials and process is quite different that in United States.

“We were showed what to be done and that was enough,” says Wilkins. “We are here for two weeks and already leaned some Armenian. We enjoyed work in such an international team.”

The Armenian organization “Young Women of Armenia” is also among the volunteers. It attracted women from different other organizations to join the work under the slogan “Women construct”. Journalist Heghine Hovanisyan is one of them.

“I heard a lot about Habitat but am participating for the first time. When I think that a whole family will be leaving in house which I helped to raise it gives me strength and hope for the better future,” says Hovanisyan, while ladling cement into pail.

A host Aronyan heartily welcomes the visitors and hurries them to enter his house.

“Welcome, come on, here will be a bedroom, here will be a dining room, look at this view, you can not see such a scene in Yerevan,” Aronyan proudly exclaimed pointing at the window, from where the panorama of Ararat mountain is seen as perfectly as if it is only a few meters that separate the snowed mountain from the place where soon will be the dining room of the family.

The Armenian office of Habitat was founded in 2000. According to official data at least 40,000 families in Armenia do not have their own homes, and another 60,000 families’ lives in damaged houses.