Hanganak NGO has made friends with the Office of the Human Rights Defender of the Artsakh Republic for years. Although, we started our friendship with Artak Beglaryan when he was still the press secretary of the Prime Minister of the Artsakh Republic. In 2014, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the organization, we had the opportunity to meet and that meeting became crucial: we were meant to be friends for good. We have turned to him many times with the most incredible requests, from providing vehicles to asking for advice on the place to entertain the beneficiaries in nature. This relationship is warm, friendly and sincere without any formalities. Our meetings may be seldom but warm and cozy as if we last talked the day before.
Artak Beglaryan has held various responsible positions since 2014, but our friendship has become even stronger. In 2019, on the 15th anniversary of the organization, we received a Letter of Gratitude from the office of the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Artsakh.
Our last meeting was practical and very much anticipated. It was about expanding the organization’s programs. We were pleasantly surprised that Artak Beglaryan was a member of the jury at the Aurora Foundation’s Artsakh Program Grant Competition, and his opinion influenced the decisions greatly, particularly the success of the AWWA project. It was very inspiring and compelling at the same time. We spoke about the introduction of the Elderly Program in Martakert and Martuni, which is very necessary and relevant in the light of recent events. We discussed the uneasy situation with the medical staff and the need to encourage the existing specialists.
With respect to the social programs implemented in Artsakh, we spoke about cooperation with the Armenian Association of Social Workers. The head of the association Mira Antonyan closely cooperates with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh. Artak Beglaryan noted that we could find very common ground for cooperation and immediately contacted Ms. Antonyan and we exchanged contacts. We expressed confidence that this cooperation would also yield results.
As for the activities of the organization, we have also discussed possible sources of funding. It was very encouraging that Hanganak NGO can have state sponsorship in 2023 fiscal year.