Armenia: Emergency Response & Recovery

Relief and Early Recovery for People Affected by Conflict in Armenia, the REACT project, is working to meet the needs of over 17,000 displaced people in the most turbulent regions of the country. Through this project, People in Need (PIN) aims to provide continuous relief aid to those most vulnerable and respond to mounting early recovery needs in Armenia.

PIN is working to support people in five selected regions of Armenia: Kotayk, Ararat, Armavir, Vayots Dzor, and Syunik. With winter quickly approaching, teams working with REACT will help provide tools necessary for living through the cooler months. Providing utility support subsidies for 2000 displaced households, eco-briquettes for 500 families, and winterization kits to 200 families will help keep homes warm in colder temperatures.

Through the REACT project, PIN will also assist the economic integration of conflict-affected populations in Armenia. Providing vocational counsellors to help vulnerable people locate gaps in professional experience and identify relevant skills will allow over 1,500 beneficiaries the opportunity to financially support themselves. This program also provides assistance in drafting CVs, networking, advising, and interviewing.

Alongside economic counselling, PIN will organise short-term vocational and educational training courses in varying subjects. Following completion of this course, 700 participants will receive livelihood kits containing tools selected to help them start their careers as soon as possible.

Additionally, PIN will continue the operation of seven child-friendly spaces in the Goris community of Syunik Province. Through this, children have the opportunity to partake in recreational activities, participate in various cultural and sightseeing events, and perhaps most importantly: play with their peers.

The REACT project is implemented in partnership with ACTED, the Association of Armenian Social Workers (AASW), and Mission Armenia NGO. Our partnering organisations work on other key aspects of integration and aid in Armenia. This support includes multipurpose vouchers assistance, legal counselling, advocacy, case management, mapping of services, and referral systems.

 

This project is made possible thanks to generous funding from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

In order to provide humanitarian aid to people affected by the Lachin corridor blockade—which has been ongoing since December 12, 2022—People in Need, Mission Armenia, Armenian Caritas, and the WINNET Armenia network of women's resource centres have formed a consortium to support about 10,000 people affected by the blockade․

With Start Network funding, PIN and our fellow consortium members are helping vulnerable people through local CSOs. We are providing a variety of supports such as winter clothes, food, psycho-social support, and youth and women engagement activities through craft skills etc. 

The selection of beneficiaries and the implementation of works are organised in cooperation with the consortium members and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Syunik Marzpetaran, Goris Municipality, and the Nagorno-Karabakh representative office in Armenia. 
 

The project aims to provide immediate support to the vulnerable population in Armenia; while focusing on displaced people, hosting families, and vulnerable individuals who stayed in their villages during the conflict. As a result of a new wave of attacks on the sovereign territory of Armenia in September 2022, 7,600 individuals have been displaced from the regions of Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor, and Syunik. 

The project aims to cover the urgent needs of the vulnerable conflict-affected and host populations in Armenia and strengthen their resilience through winterisation and food and hygiene support. The project aims to ensure winterisation support to those who lost their dwellings during the conflict. Additionally, it will support host families and ensure immediate multipurpose support that will be provided to the most vulnerable conflict-affected population to meet their most urgent needs. 

This 6-month emergency response will reach 4,225 unique individuals and will be implemented by a consortium of PIN and ACTED. The project will be closely coordinated with relevant authorities and emergency actors to avoid duplications and complement other ongoing responses.
 

Thanks to the funds from the START Network, under the "Emergency Response for Internal Displaced Populations in Armenia" project, PIN is helping people in the Syunik region affected by the Azerbaijan aggression on September 13-15, 2022. The conflict has caused displacement and severe trauma. Vulnerable groups like children, the elderly, and women are particularly at risk in a context where state support is limited and access to critical services is poor.

The project is led by ACTED in consortium with PIN and Mission Armenia and is specialising in the Vayots Dzor, Gegharkunik, and Syunik regions of Armenia. 

PIN is providing hygiene and baby kits, as well as first aid kits to families and health facilities in the Syunik region and reaching 600 households and 100 mothers. The beneficiaries are selected in cooperation with local authorities, focusing on the most vulnerable.

The project partners ACTED and Mission Armenia are providing multi-purpose vouchers and psycho-support services, respectively. 
 

Eighteen months after the escalation of violence in Nagorno Karabakh, the issue of displaced persons settled within Armenia remains high on the agenda.

The Displaced Family Support project, implemented with the kind support of the US Agency for International Development, aims to improve the quality of life of displaced families living in Metsamor City, Armavir Province. Twenty-six families living in the Mestamor shelter and two-hundred residents scattered throughout Metsamor amalgamated community will have the opportunity to develop their capacities. These families will be encouraged to engage in viable microenterprises to increase and diversify their sources of income through the initiation of new activities. The project also facilitates social cohesion between displaced families and the host community.

To understand the challenges faced by the project, PIN conducted a needs assessment of municipality workers and focus groups composed of displaced families. This assessment revealed that the displaced people had difficulties in finding employment due to the fluidity of the market and the limited economy of the host community. A market assessment highlighted the possibility of creating work in such areas as baking, café or restaurant work; private kindergarten or childcare services; sewing; and a food preserve factory.

Selected beneficiaries among the displaced families and host community will attend training on baking technology, speciality and alternative baking, pastry arts, food service management, financial literacy, and business management. The most successful and motivated participants will have the opportunity of employment in the newly created bakery or receive livelihood kits to support their income generation abilities.

As a major output, the project will support the economic integration of displaced residents in Metsamor through the establishment and maintenance of a bakery. The bakery will ensure an additional 10-12 jobs for the town in general and the project participants in particular. According to estimates, the bakery will produce about 800 loaves of bread and 300 lavashes daily and cover the needs of Mestamor kindergartens and schools. Furthermore, the bakery will produce products both for displaced families at no cost and for sale to the public to ensure the sustainability of the business.

To foster proper assimilation and social integration of displaced families within the host community, PIN in collaboration with Metsamor city municipality will contribute to establishing an additional childcare unit within the existing kindergarten. This collaboration will aim at furnishing, equipping, and staffing. The kindergarten management will be encouraged to prioritize shelter residents for unit staff if they match the requirements for the position.

People in Need supports those affected by the conflict in Armenia by addressing their most pressing hygiene and winterization needs, as well as by helping to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The project covers all of the regions of Armenia and responds to the needs of approximately 50,000 beneficiaries.
Using an integrated Shelter, Health, and Wash response, the project is focused on:

• Enhancing access to safe and winterized shelter for the most vulnerable, displaced populations;

• Protecting the displaced and their host communities from the spread of COVID-19 by enhancing their awareness and enabling them to adopt practices to minimize the risk of transmitting or contracting the disease; and
• Ensuring that the most vulnerable populations affected by the conflict are able to practice basic hygiene and infection prevention behaviors.
 

This project, funded by the European Union and implemented by People in Need (PIN), targets about 2400 conflict-affected persons by addressing their most pressing basic hygiene needs. PIN provides hygiene kits to displaced households and to the most vulnerable host households. The contents of hygiene kits are aligned with national and WHO recommendations, as well as with the recommendations of the WASH working group.
The hygiene kits include more than two dozen items in different quantities for COVID-19 prevention, self-care and house/shelter cleaning: there will be family kits for general usage and additional individual packages for children, women and seniors.
PIN will also produce a needs assessment report to ensure that conflict-affected populations have improved access to evidence-based relief.
Activities are focused on the Syunik region, specifically the Goris extended community, the city of Goris and the Tegh extended community.
 

This project contributes to saving lives, promoting wellbeing, and strengthening the resilience of vulnerable displaced and host populations affected by the conflict in Armenia. The project is funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and implemented by People in Need (PIN) in partnership with ACTED, REACH, Association of Armenian Social Workers (AASW) and Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation (ART). 
This project will respond to the needs of about 20,000 conflict-affected persons via a multi-sectoral program that aims at addressing the most pressing shelter, hygiene, and psychological needs of populations.
PIN will increase access to safe and winterized shelter for the most vulnerable conflict-affected populations and support host families with utility payments. The selection of the beneficiaries will be closely coordinated with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MSLA), local municipalities, and the marz administrations.