The interview took place in October 2018.
Laura M. was born in 1955 in Stepanakert. She went to N7 secondary school in Stepanakert and continued her education at the Stepanakert College of Accounting. After graduating from the College she started to work as an operator at the Stepanakert Statistical-Informational Center and later on in the Stepanakert Shoemaking Factory until the war was escalated. The Factory was destroyed during the war. Since then she has had no job…
At the age of 25 she got married. She remembers her husband as a caring and gentle person. They lived happily over 14 years. Unfortunately they didn’t have children. From the very beginning of Artsakh war Laura’s husband entered to the Artsakh Defense Army to protect his country and loved ones. In 1994 he was killed just before cease-fire agreement was assigned… A year earlier Laura lost her brother that left his wife and three children.
Laura is 63 year old and she has no job, no family, no own home, no support… Laura lives on the ground floor of her parental house that belongs to her brother’s family. She receives a pension of 60000 AMD where every penny counts..
A few months ago she was accepted to the list of beneficiaries of Hanganak NGO. She is not pleased with her health condition. She has a lot of health problems: high blood pressure, chronic anemia, varicose, etc… The most of needed medicines for her treatment are provided by Hanganak.
The room that serves as a living room and a bedroom is heated by electrical heater. The money provided by Hanganak for heating assistance helps her a lot. She tries to live frugally. She saves so that the meager pension lasts until next month. She cannot count on anybody.
“May the day when I became the beneficiary of Hanganak be blessed… I am very grateful for the care and support that I receive; Hanganak is more for me than just a supporting organization. God bless our sponsors and Hanganak that ease our lives…”, she says.