Exactly two years ago, in October 2021, a couple from Boston (USA) Laura and Hermann Purutian visited the Hanganak office. While visiting Artsakh, they could not help but fulfill the request of Nancy Barsamyan, who is responsible for clinical projects of Hanganak, to meet with the staff of the organization.
In these hard times, Laura is again back to the Homeland. Once again, she gladly fulfilled Nancy’s request to meet and express her and Nancy’s support for the Hanganak staff and beneficiaries. It was a very warm meeting. Laura told that during her first visit she was amazed at the organized and regulated work of the organization; she recalled the book “The Story of one Life,” which presented dramatic biographies of many of the beneficiaries of the organization. Lina Grigoryan, coordinator of the Hanganak Elderly project, told with bitterness that everything remained in Artsakh, and from the entire documented archive it was only possible to take the list of beneficiaries.
Laura was wondering how and where Hanganak employees and beneficiaries managed to settle in Armenia. It was noted that the employees have mostly been resettled, although many are living in temporarily rented accommodations. As for the beneficiaries, it was mentioned that the location of 180 of the 320 beneficiaries has already been determined, and five people have moved to Russia to live with their relatives. Some of the beneficiaries made contact themselves and reported their place of residence, while the rest were found through friends and relatives.
When Laura asked what the priority issues were, she was told that these included determining the location of all beneficiaries and providing them with one-time financial assistance. Since everything is still uncertain, in particular the location of many beneficiaries is temporary, an assessment and classification of needs is simultaneously carried out so that the organization can decide on further tasks.
At the end of the meeting, Hanganak employees thanked Laura for her support.