In the framework of a housing project, VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia President Ashot Yeghiazaryan paid another regional visit. This time the partners visited the Sukiasyan family in the town of Stepanavan in Lori province.

The Sukiasyans are one of the three families that have received support through the housing project in Lori in 2016. They had been homeless after the 1988 earthquake and had to live in a metal container for 28 years. In 2000, the family bought a half-built house, but was not able to complete the construction.

In the framework of the housing project, the Sukiasyan family started the construction of their half-built house, and now, together with the partnering organizations, they celebrate the long-awaited housewarming.

''Sixteen long years have passed... and during all these years we were not able to complete the construction of our house. Every time we tried, we encountered obstacles. My father mulled leaving the country and working abroad to earn the money for the construction, but something kept him and us from doing that. We always thought it better to live in a metal container than be separated from each other. What matters now is that our father is with us, and that we have built a house of our own. I am sincerely grateful for that!'' said sixteen-year-old Lilith.

Owing to the financial investment of VivaCell-MTS, the housing problem of 20 families has been solved in Lori province alone.

“Five years ago, when we presented apartments to 20 families who were hit by earthquake, in Vanadzor, we were hopeful that the look in the eyes of the children growing up in metal containers would change from sad and desperate to bright and optimistic. A child who no longer has faith in the future, cannot bring positive changes to the country. Fully acknowledging the seriousness of the situation, we have tried to implement one more program with the aim of supporting socially vulnerable families. Thus, owing to the partnership with Fuller Center for Housing Armenia, we have succeeded in providing decent housing conditions to twenty more families in this province. My hope is that the hard conditions of life in metal containers will stay in the past and will no longer cast a shadow on the happiness of these families that strive to work and thrive in their homeland,” said Yirikian.

“The story of this family is similar to those of hundreds of others in Lori: people, who grew up in metal containers, got married and moved into another metal container. Nevertheless, the housewarming of each house is a step forward,'' said Yeghiazaryan.

For the implementation of the housing project in the current year, VivaCell-MTS has invested about AMD 105 mln. 21 families have finished the construction of their half-built houses; another 21 have renovated the houses. In the framework of the five-year partnership, 135 families have been supported through the housing project in ten provicnes of Armenia.