On June 17, a regular AWWA / Hanganak NGO meeting took place organized on Zoom platform. The meeting was chaired by AWWA Board Member Margaret Kiladjian. The members of the meeting received the agenda the day before. The meeting was to start with the report of the new member of the organization, psychotherapist Dr. Anahit Lalayan. As mentioned in previous discussions, psychological services for beneficiaries have been added to the Hanganak’s services. The center has been providing psychological services since April and the first results were to be presented at the Task Force Meeting.
Anahit Lalayan introduced herself and told about her work experience and implemented programs. As the head of the Empathy Mental Health Center, Dr. Lalayan works with a wide range of people. Her 20 plus years of experience allows her to organize the services properly. The center works with both individuals and organizations. Some programs are state sponsored. The center is also a research institution that conducts research to study the effects of war as a stress factor on mental health of the population. In respect with the recent war, Dr. Lalayan said that such a study was being carried out at present, but it was too early to talk about the results.
Psychological group sessions are provided for the beneficiaries of Hanganak. These sessions are organized once a week, every Thursday (14:00 – 16:00). The groups are open, ie the beneficiaries can participate as they wish, the groups can have a different structure every time based on the participants present. According to Dr. Lalayan, some progress is already being made. In addition to group sessions, psychological services should be provided in the form of individual counseling. The list of beneficiaries for individual psychological services will be determined after the survey, which will allow to identify people with psychological problems and a need for special treatment. Dr. Lalayan answered the questions of the participants and introduced the questionnaire and research schedule.
Then, the participants discussed 2022 May reports. The team predicted financial problems since July, as the dollar continued to fall and the prices of medicines and food rise. This will double the cost. It was suggested to postpone some plans. The participants talked about the temporary suspension of the English language courses, in particular.
The participants expressed satisfaction with the selection of food types for May. The emphasis was on increased protein intake, which is very welcome. Beneficiaries were also satisfied with the food assortment for May.
The situation with Covid-19 was also discussed briefly. Fortunately, no cases have been registered in Artsakh for a long time.
Other current issues were also discussed.