On January 22, an extraordinary AWWA/Hanganak NGO Task Force meeting was held via Zoom. It was organized at the invitation of Margaret Kiladjian to discuss the funding of the Elderly Project. As usual, the meeting was chaired by Margaret Kiladjian, an AWWA Board member. The participants of the meeting were JoAnn Janjigian, an AWWA Board member, Nancy Barsamian, responsible for clinical part of the Elderly Project, and Gohar Hovhannisyan, the chairperson of Hanganak NGO.
As already noted, the main topic of discussion was the funding of the Elderly Project. About 2/3 of the project budget for 2023 will be funded by AWWA, and a smaller part, mainly salaries, was expected to be funded by the state. However, it has become clear from the recent developments that it′s difficult to expect state support in the current situation. Therefore, the project, which is crucial for the 320 lonely elderly people of Artsakh, is facing serious problems.
Hanganak NGO has already received a number of donations from individuals and local organizations, but they are not enough to implement the project.
All possible options were discussed to ensure the smooth running of the Elderly Project. Despite the significant decrease in salaries due to the fall in the US dollar exchange rate, it was proposed not to revise the issue of salary increases, but to maintain the previous year’s budget, in addition, to reduce all additional expenses. However, even in these conditions, the available funds are not enough. Therefore, the Task Force proposed to organize a fundraising.
Other current issues were also discussed and it was decided to start preparations immediately in order to organize the fundraising quickly and efficiently.