When people come together not simply to take part in an activity, but because they genuinely want to see one another, listen to one another, and share their day, a community gradually begins to take shape. This is the warm and welcoming environment being created at the community-based center for displaced older adults in Hrazdan.
Each week at the center brings new encounters, heartfelt conversations, and small but meaningful moments of joy to older people forcibly displaced from Artsakh. Here, they are not merely recipients of services and support. They are active participants who shape the center’s daily life through their stories, knowledge, talents, and care for one another.
This week, Anush Shekyan, the center’s activities coordinator and group facilitator, invited the participants to Hrazdan’s Charles Aznavour Park, affectionately known among local residents as the “Fir Tree Park.” Surrounded by the beauty of autumn, the gathering turned into a small celebration of friendship. The participants had prepared delicious homemade dishes and lovingly shared them with one another. Around the table, they exchanged stories, memories, and sincere conversation. In these simple, warm moments, it was especially clear how important it is for older adults to have opportunities to be together, to offer care, and to receive it in return.
The gatherings also included gentle physical activity. Anush, who is also a kinesiotherapist, guided the participants through exercises adapted to their age and abilities. They moved together with smiles, encouraging and supporting one another. These sessions help preserve mobility while also improving mood, strengthening confidence in one’s abilities, and deepening the group’s sense of togetherness.
On Wednesday, in accordance with the center’s activity schedule, another psychological group session took place. This time, through a shared creative exercise, the participants made a large and colorful flower. Each petal had its own color, meaning, and story. When their work was complete, they presented the flower as a symbol of their community: people of different colors and unique personalities, connected by a shared center, mutual trust, support, and the desire to be together.
The flower was much more than a drawing. It became a symbol of the new relationships taking root at the center. Just as every petal is essential to the flower’s beauty and wholeness, every member of the group is important to this community through their presence, experience, and warmth.
For many older adults, forced displacement has meant losing not only their homes, but also the familiar surroundings, friendships, and daily routines built over a lifetime. This is why the center’s work is far more than a series of scheduled activities. It gives participants something to look forward to – a chance to rediscover the joy of human connection, to move, create, share memories, and feel that they are not alone.
Hanganak Charity NGO will continue creating an environment where displaced older adults can feel heard, accepted, active, and valued. We want the center to gradually become a place that feels like their own – a small community in which every person has a place and a unique color.
The project is implemented by Hanganak Charity NGO with the financial support of the Representation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Armenia, through a grant awarded by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to UNHCR Armenia and the Eurasia Partnership Foundation for making these meaningful gatherings and this growing community life possible. We are also deeply grateful to the Hrazdan office of Mission Armenia Charitable NGO for providing space for the center’s activities and for its valuable cooperation.
Above all, we thank our participants, who bring the center to life each day through their presence, sincerity, and care for one another. The colorful flower they created together already tells the most important story: even after the most painful losses, a community can blossom again.
