VivaCell-MTS, Fuller Center Finish House for Hasratyan Family

Employees of VivaCell-MTS and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia recently participated in the construction of a home for the Hasratyan family as part of a five-year housing project for 134 families from all regions of Armenia.

The heads of the partnering organizations with the Hasratyan family

And now, the Hasratyan family is experiencing the joy of having a comfortable home along with four other families in Goris’ Syunik region.

For years, the Hasratyan family hoped to have their own home. Because father Vardan serves in Armenia’s Defense Army, over the years the family moved from rental house to rental house in Ijevan, Kapan, and Vayk, Armenia. In 2002, the family managed to buy a half-built construction in Goris, but could not complete it. That’s when VivaCell-MTS and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia stepped in and helped fulfill the project.

”In the course of our life, we have lived in many houses,” said mother Nazeli. “My children grew up not knowing the happiness of having a decent home. My daughter is already a student. My son is serving in the army. My second son is a schoolchild. I hope that we will no longer have to move from one house to another. Now that our lifetime dream is coming true, it is impossible to describe my happiness.”

This year, 41 families without housing will have that problem solved; 21 families will have the construction of their half-built house finished and 20 families will do renovation work to prevent the houses from destruction.

“In our lifetime all of us come across problems that demand continuous efforts and strong willpower to be solved,” said VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian. “When people feel that they are not alone, they acquire confidence in overcoming the hardships.

“This project has two objectives,” he noted. “The first one, and the visible one, is to bring positive changes into people’s lives. The second objective is to reject the indifference which is even more important. One should stand firmly on the ground and react to the situations properly. If we want to solve the problems in the society, we should learn to be compassionate and united.”

In 2016, VivaCell-MTS allocated about $105 million AMD for the housing project, with $100 million AMD invested in 2015.

”The vigorous phase of the construction work is coming to its end and now it’s harvest time,” added Fuller Center for Housing Armenia President Ashot Yeghiazaryan. “Our program does have its harvest time, when the last construction works are done on the half-built houses that seemed so far from being completed. There comes the time when the house is filled with colors and life, and the family feels that the dream nurtured for so many years has become a reality. The time comes for the families to have a strong roof over their heads.”

VivaCell is Armenia’s leading telecommunications operator in Armenia. MTS is the leading telecommunications group in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Fuller Center for Housing Armenia is a non-governmental, charitable organization that supports community development in Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh by helping build and renovate simple, decent and affordable homes and advocate for the human right to decent shelter. Since 2008, the center has helped over 490 families.