By Shahd AlShehail | GlobalGiving In-the-Field Intern
My name is Shahd AlShehail, and I’m a GlobalGiving intern who visited all our partner organization in Armenia! Allow me tell you about my visit to the project you donated to ...
After the earthquake of 1988 in Armenia, many families were left with no place to live. At that time, the fast and cheap solution was to place them in metal shacks until the area was repaired. Shockingly, more than ten years have passed and the majority of these families are still living in the metal shacks. However, hope is not lost. Organizations like the Fuller Center for Housing are working actively to change this reality, and are doing so in an affordable and sustainable way.
On a bright Wednesday morning, Isabel and I boarded a bus to Vanadzor with Gohar (Resource Development Manager) and a group of enthusiastic volunteers from the United States. During our hour long ride from Yerevan to Vanadzor, the volunteers told us about their positive experience with the Fuller Center. Some of them visited on a yearly basis because they felt a strong connection to the FCH’s mission and financial model. Fuller provides long-term, interest free loans to low-income families and the monthly repayment gets reinvested in a revolving fund to help more families.
FCH used the money raised through GlobalGiving, along with partnerships with ARDA and Vanadzor Municipality, to build 15 homes. We visited the Yessayan family in their new home. The parents and two young boys were proud to show us around the first real home the children had ever lived in! Before moving in June of 2011, the family of four lived in a one room metal shack. The children often got sick due to the harsh winters in Northern Armenia and the lack of insulation and weather protection. The new homes, on the other hand, are built with sustainable material and are earthquake resistant.
The Fuller Center for Housing has built 47 houses in Vanadzor so far, however, there is still a lot to do with more than a 1,000 families still displaced. Your continued support is essential to FCH’s success. Donate here http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/helping-2-low-income-families-in-housing-poverty/
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