YEREVAN, 25 MAY, ARMENPESS. 1988 was a tough and difficult period for Armenia: war in Artsakh, unrest in Sumgait, immigration of refugees and then the disastrous earthquake… Staggered wounds, vulnerable families, lots of people needed help and support. Seeing this and feeling the need of support the founders of Mission Armenia non-governmental charity organization united around the idea to voluntarily help people. Armenpress talked to Hripsime Kirakosyan, the president of Mission Armenia NGO about the establishment, history and future activities of Mission Armenia.

Ms. Kirakosyan please tell us how long Mission Armenia carries out its activity?

“In fact we started our activity in 1988, when we united with our adherents to help the victims and refugees of the devastating earthquake and warand as a non-governmental organization Mission Armenia was officially registered in 1993, right after the RA Law on “Non-governmental organizations” was adopted”.

Within around twenty years of its activities our Organisation managed to become a non-governmental structure, which due to its experience and knowledge has gained a special place in social support sphere in Armenia. Currently Mission Armenia NGO provides a wide range of community-based social services to more than 8000 beneficiaries through about 50 infrastructures founded in 22 cities of eight marzes of Armenia.

What path of establishment your Organisation passed and what is the main mission of Mission Armenia today?

“Our activities were quite spontaneous at the beginning: we were providing needy people with clothing and food, were organizing health-care services, helping people who need special care and basically we were doing everything possible and impossible to help people in need”. “At that moment there were no days and nights, they were working without feeling tiredness and with sincere love. And today we can proudly note that during these years Mission Armenia NGO created, implemented and developed a comprehensive system for providing community-based social-healthcare services. This system doesn’t have an alternative either in public or in social spheres. It enabled the elderly, the disabled people, refugees, temporary dwelling holders and other vulnerable groups to receive a variety of social and healthcare services in their homes and communities corresponding to their personal abilities and vital needs.”

Having adopted a systemic approach to the support provided to vulnerable groups, the organization not only provides services, but also strives to contribute to the improvement of social policies on community levels and to the development of social partnership.

Which organisations Mission Armenia cooperates with?

“When providing our services we follow our own model of community-based social-healthcare, which is based on classical social work. And it’s worth noting that the model established by Mission Armenia NGO gained a wide recognition not only in Armenia, but also in the whole Caucasus region, having been introduced in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Dagestan.”.

Mission Armenia NGO is also the founder of International Union of Black Sea NGOs, which is comprised of 50 NGOs from 12 countries of Black Sea region. The Secretariat of the Union is permanently based in Armenia and is lead by the Mission Armenia NGO.

 I pay a special attention to the importance of close partnership with local and especially international organizations. I would like to specially highlight our cooperation with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), USAID and World Bank, thanks to which we are able to enlarge the number of beneficiaries and the scope of services meeting the needs of the beneficiaries, as well as to implement more comprehensive and targeted projects. Mission Armenia NGO cooperates with UNHCR since 1994 up to now and continues implementing and enlarging the scope of social-healthcare services and training programs for immigrated refugees from Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran and other countries. I especially find very important our cooperation with the office of the UNHCR which besides aforementioned refugees, since 2011 it provides with invaluable support to refugees from Syria to improve their life conditions (accommodation, food, social-healthcare services, first necessities, education, job and etc.). These people are the inheritors of the generation of 1915 genocide, massacre and displacements. And after the war started in Syria in March 2011 they again appeared in the same disaster, migration, displacement and their grievous consequences.

Thanks to the support provided by the UNHCR many Syrian-Armenian families try to start new life in Armenia today.

Tell us please about current and future projects of Mission Armenia?

Since 2013 we implement a cross-governmental project on “Strengthening the livelihood and voice of poor and vulnerable people in Armenia” funded by the Japanese Social Development Foundation and with the support of the World Bank and the Government of RA. The project is aimed at providing needed life conditions and employment opportunities, as well as necessary social-healthcare services to 4000 disabled and poor people in Yerevan and five marzes of Armenia (Kotayk, Ararat, Lori, Gegharkunik and Shirak).

And since 2014 another project on “Support to Social Sector Reforms in Armenia” funded by the USAID and supported by the RA Government commenced. The goal of the project is to promote improved and sustainable social security system in Armenia. The project will work closely with civic initiative groups and civil society in order to improve access to information for them, expand their participation in policy reforms and to strengthen their capacities to monitor the activities of the RA Government.

RA Government through the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and local authorities have their great contribution in the implementation of all these projects.

Currently among our partners and supporters are the most powerful local and international organizations, which highly appreciate the transparent activity and efficient reporting system of their partner.

 During several years’ of efficient cooperation with various organizations enabled us to expand the circle of their beneficiaries reaching and providing support to the representatives of different vulnerable groups, namely elderly, refugees and young disabled people.

I have to admit that our activity was initially based on helping people to become self-satisfied and motivate them feel able. Providing only pecuniary aid to people doesn’t assure long-term and sustainable results. You need to provide a person with proper life conditions corresponding to him particularly and with an opportunity to build his future.

You need to give the person a vision.