2023 Annual Report
FUND FOR ARMENIAN RELIEF PROGRAMS
FAR for Artsakh
In 2020, peace in Artsakh was ripped away with the start of a 44-day war. In 2023, following a grueling nine-month blockade and closure of the Lachin corridor, Artsakh was confiscated from Armenians, seemingly in an instant, displacing more than 100,000 who then sought refuge over the border. FAR immediately responded to this emergency and assisted Artsakh families in need, while also continuing to support and empower Artsakh families already in Armenia.
The loss of Artsakh meant that FAR had to reexamine and re-design the FAR for Artsakh projects specifically aimed to build and strengthen Artsakh’s systems and institutions. Four of the projects under this program—Doctors for Artsakh, Social Workers for Artsakh, the Developing Child Protection Center, and Supporting Foster Care Development—had to be redesigned during 2023 so they could empower Artsakh-Armenians to build their lives in Armenia.
In 2020, peace in Artsakh was ripped away with the start of a 44-day war. In 2023, following a grueling nine-month blockade and closure of the Lachin corridor, Artsakh was confiscated from Armenians, seemingly in an instant, displacing more than 100,000 who then sought refuge over the border. FAR immediately responded to this emergency and assisted Artsakh families in need, while also continuing to support and empower Artsakh families already in Armenia.
The loss of Artsakh meant that FAR had to reexamine and re-design the FAR for Artsakh projects specifically aimed to build and strengthen Artsakh’s systems and institutions. Four of the projects under this program—Doctors for Artsakh, Social Workers for Artsakh, the Developing Child Protection Center, and Supporting Foster Care Development—had to be redesigned during 2023 so they could empower Artsakh-Armenians to build their lives in Armenia.
DOCTORS FOR ARTSAKH
FAR launched Doctors for Artsakh in March 2021 to fill the gaps in medical personnel and revitalize Artsakh’s healthcare system. Through the project, leading doctors from Armenia worked in various hospitals and clinics on a rotating basis, for a duration of anywhere between two weeks and six months.
Despite the Artsakh blockade, two physicians were able to continue their service in Artsakh through this program until September 2023. Both had been involved with the program since its start in April 2021.
Doctors for Artsakh also supported six physicians and three nurses from Artsakh receive proper licensing in order to work in Armenia.
More than 40 doctors were deployed from Armenia to Artsakh over the two years of program implementation; 15 of them participated in the program multiple times.
The extended family arrived in the Ijevan Region of Tavush Province where they have settled to build a new life. FAR helped them with essential food and hygiene items, bedding and heaters as part of its emergency assistance efforts under the Support for Artsakh’s Displaced project.
Still haunted by memories of bombs and their children's cries during their sheltered moments in their village house, they are determined to start anew.
“It feels like Martakert,” said Manvel. “We can start over with cattle breeding here.”
Their 12-year-old son Arman previoiusly dreamed of having his bicycle back; there was not enough space in the car to bring it with them from Artsakh. Arman’s wish eventually came true when he was gifted a bike from Ayo!’s Christmas Wishlist campaign in December.
Manvel, his wife Ani, and their children had already been forced to relocate within Artsakh during the Four-Day War of 2016. They then moved to Armenia’s Ararat Province during the Artsakh War of 2020 before returning to Martakert. When Artsakh was seized in 2023, they fled to Tavush Province in Armenia.
Manvel and Ani’s family, along with Manvel’s brother Suren’s family, spent two days driving from Martakert to Tavush, filled with fear that their car packed with 15 people could be stopped at any time by Azeris along the way. They finally breathed a sigh of relief as they passed through the Lachin corridor. That lifeline had previously been closed for more than nine months, cutting off thousands of Artsakh residents.
“We were forced to leave after enduring more than 24 hours of shelling by Azeris and we became ‘refugees’ for the third time,” Manvel said. “Now there is no hope of returning home. What saddens me the most is that I won't be able to visit the graves of my parents and grandparents again.”
The Sargsyan Family
HIGHLIGHTED BENEFICIARY
THE SARGSYAN FAMILY LEFT EVERYTHING IN MARTAKERT, ARTSAKH: THE HOUSE MANVEL SARGSYAN BUILT HIMSELF, AND THEIR FARM WITH MORE THAN 200 COWS.
Thirty-four local youth, aged 15 to 29, who completed a series of professional development training on fruit and wine production were also provided with needed tools and equipment to start their own small trades.
The Shaghat Village Cooperative received packaging equipment for its production of tea, dried fruits, cheeses and other products. The cooperative’s sewing unit received additional tools, including ironing tables and equipment for button repairs, for its operation and employment of local women.
Forty-three children from Artsakh and local children from Sisian from low-income families received FAR stipends to attend various cultural and sports hobby groups.
Forty-six children also attended the FAR’s agricultural management extracurricular group. Thirteen of the participants were admitted to the Agro University of Sisian.
FAR also focused on trying to boost the capacities of local healthcare providers in the region. To give improved care to the local population, including displaced Artsakh-Armenians, FAR partially improved the Darbas Primary Healthcare Facility with a renovated examination room, and the installation of a private water tank and a solar heating system. FAR also completed partial renovations on the Brnakot Primary Healthcare Facility.
Support in the form of backpacks and school supplies was distributed to 140 children from Artsakh in Sisian.
In response to community feedback received at the start of 2023, FAR’s staff organized public health events for the local community on cancer prevention and non-communicable diseases. More than 700 community members attended. In addition, information sessions about diabetes were held at local high schools.
Fourteen families received livestock, including 20 cows and sheep, to begin animal husbandry activities. Social workers followed up with the recipients, and further training will be organized at the Sisian branch of the Armenian National Agrarian University.
In addition to the emergency response activities that followed the confiscation of Artsakh, Support for Artsakh’s Displaced continued to help Artsakh families already settled in Armenia. Mass migration, along with the cross-border violence that occurred during 2022 meant that the local population in the Syunik Region continued to be in great need of support. Through improved access to social services, greater opportunities for capacity-building, and targeted humanitarian assistance, FAR staff empowered these families to improve their lives. Artsakh-Armenians and local families now all benefit from this project so communities are supported and strengthened as a whole.
In 2023, FAR supported 65 families through Support for Artsakh’s Displaced in Sisian (15 from Artsakh and 50 families from the local community) with individual support packages to address their primary needs.
FAR provided psychological support to 45 individuals from Artsakh in Sisian. A psychologist from Yerevan with a specialization in trauma traveled to Sisian to help those in need through group therapy and support groups, which were held throughout the year.
Psychologists and social workers trained through Social Workers for Artsakh provided psychological first aid and emergency psychological support to 50 individuals from Artsakh.
Mobile health teams also traveled to the Tavush Region to assess the needs of more than 60 displaced elderly individuals from Artsakh and to ensure they received appropriate care and support, including hygiene kits and other necessities.
Additional meals were also provided to the elderly from Artsakh at some of FAR’s soup kitchens.
With the help of healthcare professionals from Yerevan and in collaboration with the region’s healthcare officials, a medical mission program was executed in the Kapan and Goris communities of Syunik Province. Five doctors canvased the region and addressed the healthcare needs of displaced children. More than 100 children with different health issues were thoroughly examined.
SUPPORT FOR ARTSAKH’S DISPLACED
FAR launched Support for Artsakh’s Displaced in 2021 to provide integrated and multifaceted support to families forced to leave their homes in Artsakh and relocate to the Sisian Region of Syunik Province, which at the time hosted the largest number of displaced families.
When Artsakh was seized by the Azeris in September 2023, nearly 100,000 Artsakh-Armenians who were suddenly robbed of their homeland, fled to Armenia seeking safety and stability. FAR jumped into action, distributing emergency assistance while also coordinating with other NGOs in the country that were assisting the displaced.
During this time, FAR delivered more than 25 tons of emergency aid to nearly 100 displaced families (5,000 individuals) in Syunik, Tavush, Ararat, Vayots Dzor and Lori provinces. Along with food packages, hygiene kits, and basic medicines, assistance included the distribution of 450 bedding sets, 300 packs of school supplies, 200 heaters and 300 sets of warm clothing.
Developing Child Protection Center
Displaced children and their parents received psychosocial support through both group and individual sessions
57
Social Workers for Artsakh
Social workers from Artsakh completed their studies
38
Doctors for Artsakh
6 physicians and 3 nurses from Artsakh receive proper licensing in order to work in Armenia
6+3
Doctors for Artsakh
Physicians deployed to Artsakh to support healthcare workers since 2021
40
Support for Artsakh’s Displaced
Tons of emergency aid distributed to nearly 100 displaced families in Armenia
25
FAR FOR ARTSAKH
By the Numbers
Howard and Catherine Atesian
The John Mirak Foundation
Juliette Apkarian Stapanian
Leon Semonian (Robert A. Semonian Foundation)
Nazarian Family Foundation
New York Friends of Gavar School
The Pan Armenian Council of New England
Rosette Garabedian
The Norman K. Miller Charitable Fund
AAHPO
Ajemian Foundation
Ararat and Sonya Hacet
Armenian Medical Fund
Dadourian Foundation
Edward & Pamela Avedisian Charitable Trust
Gregory J. Parseghian
Harold and Josephine Gulamerian Foundation
Hovanes Nigohosian-Nigohosian Benevolence Fund
HoVeKim Foundation
Leon Semonian (Robert A. Semonian Foundation)
Nazarian Family Foundation
New York Friends of Gavar School
The Pan Armenian Council of New England
Rosette Garabedian
The Norman K. Miller Charitable Fund
Harold and Josephine Gulamerian Foundation
Hovanes Nigohosian-Nigohosian Benevolence Fund
HoVeKim Foundation
Howard and Catherine Atesian
The John Mirak Foundation
Juliette Apkarian Stapanian
AAHPO
Ajemian Foundation
Ararat and Sonya Hacet
Armenian Medical Fund
Dadourian Foundation
Edward & Pamela Avedisian Charitable Trust
Gregory J. Parseghian
FAR FOR ARTSAKH
Top Donors
A total of 80 paraprofessionals completed training through this program since its start in 2021; 24 of them currently work in Armenia, mostly with displaced families. Starting in 2024, this project will support Artsakh-Armenians living in Armenia who wish to study and train to become social workers.
Following the exodus from Artsakh, 63 displaced social workers and their families received psychological first aid and group therapy from psychologists from the FAR Child Protection Center and the Armenian Association of Social Workers.
FAR also facilitated job placements for 17 displaced social workers from Artsakh in different organizations throughout Armenia.
SOCIAL WORKERS FOR ARTSAKH
Social Workers for Artsakh was a project that aimed to establish a desperately needed social services system in a place where none previously existed. A collaboration between the FAR Child Protection Center and Armenia’s Association of Social Workers established the Social Workers Institute in Artsakh, which enabled aspiring professionals to receive proper training.
The program shifted to an online modality due to the 2023 blockade and closure of the Lachine corridor. Social workers in training were supported through virtual sessions despite the challenges of poor Internet connectivity and unreliable electricity. With the forced exodus of Armenians from Artsakh, 38 program participants finished their studies in Armenia.
DEVELOPING CHILD PROTECTION CENTER
FAR’s Child Protection Center collaborated with Artsakh’s government to create the Developing Child Protection Center in Martakert, Artsakh. While construction began in the second half of 2022 and was later held in abeyance during the blockade, the building was eventually completed in 2023 and seven social workers were hired.
Psychosocial support was given to 57 children and their parents through both group and individual sessions. The support was tailored to the unique needs of displacement and included info sessions about how to navigate practical matters such as refugee/residency status and the path to citizenship.
SUPPORTING FOSTER CARE DEVELOPMENT
Part of FAR’s work in Artsakh included starting a foster care program and deinstitutionalizing care for orphaned children. Artsakh’s government approached the FAR Child Protection Center in 2022 and asked for its assistance to remove 20 children from a Stepanakert orphanage. Child Protection Center staff then set to work organizing inter-sectorial meetings and seminars with Artsakh ministries and decision makers, capitalizing on their expertise from having implemented Armenia’s foster care system.
During 2022, Child Protection Center staff interviewed many potential foster parents and selected 43 candidates, 24 of whom began their training in the fundamentals of foster care. However, once the blockade started and Artsakh was seized, this project was unable to continue in Artsakh.
The FAR Child Protection Center continues to work with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on the de-institutionalization of orphaned children from Artsakh in Armenia.
