Leyla hopes to be an entrepreneur one day with her felting skills received with the support of World Vision
Leyla is a beautiful young lady aged 31, who lives in a small village in Amasia area. Her three bright children Larisa, 11, Sirun, 9 and Arsen, 3 are joyful kids enjoying their childhood and not even realizing how hard their mother gets the food on the table every day.
Leyla is a beautiful young lady aged 31, who lives in a small village in Amasia area. Her three bright children Larisa, 11, Sirun, 9 and Arsen, 3 are joyful kids enjoying their childhood and not even realizing how hard their mother gets the food on the table every day.
Leyla’s husband Armen, 40, left the country to Russia in search of odd jobs in construction field and Leyla’s mother-in-law Larisa, 63, is in hospital in capital city because of serious health issues.
“In just one day I was left with no support. I should look after kids, clean the house, look after the animals, cook for children three times a day, wash their clothes. I don’t have time left in 24 hours to look myself in the mirror,” shares Leyla looking at her blackened nails and crude hands. “There was a time I had beautiful hands and soft skin,” she adds.
In February, this 31-year-old young lady took part in wool felting courses organized by local NGO. World Vision supported four young ladies covering their participation and supplemental materials for three months to empower young families and receive professional orientation. The three-month courses empowered young ladies to make handmade woolen jewelry, slippers, bedding design, etc. After the training course they were able to organize an exhibition for public. Many hotel owners got interested in the items and ordered making several items in large numbers. The income went to purchase of more supplemental materials for other students.
"I can make great income from felting, but currently I extremely lack time and means"
“I can make great income from felting, but currently I extremely lack time and means,” says Leyla, “The unique designs differ from each other and everybody goes for innovative items. Also felting is not that much developed or spread in our territory, so people like to buy felted items, even small ones,” she adds.
World Vision always keeps in touch with trainees to support them further in development of their own small businesses. Leyla, facing temporary issues in her small family, received gifts from World Vision as a support to overcome her hard time.
“I very much appreciate the support and will do my best to never give up. Hope that I can produce beautiful felted items and sell them to local entrepreneurs,” says Leyla opening the received bags. “Oh, this one is also very comfortable as a school bag. So I can save also on buying new school bags for my kids,” smiles Leyla.
Amasia’s communities are located in the north-west of the country, bordering Turkey in the west and Georgia in the north. This region is well-known with its harsh winters, where temperature falls to 37C degrees below zero and the roads are closed because of the heavy snows and snowstorms. The communities are isolated from the cities half of the year; many young families plan their pregnancy to give birth in the summer so that health posts and experts can be easily reached.
“This area of the country needs more attention. People living here are very far from the cities and get happy when seeing a stranger passing next to their doors. Creating local opportunities for even a small entrepreneurship is a great support for families living here,” says Aram Nikoghosyan, World Vision Armenia Amasia Program Specialist.
Leyla's daughters trying on the new bags for their school
