Anichka never loses faith; she works and believes in future

Anichka is not very old, but because of her hard living conditions she looks elder. Her daughter-in-law left the family few years ago leaving also behind her eight year old daughter. Anichka’s son participated in Nagorno-Karabagh armed conflict (in September, 2020) and was held as a prisoner of war by Azerbaijan for 120 days. He is currently undergoing a mental and physical rehabilitation.

The family has lived in a small metal cabin for 28 years in one of the communities of Lori Marz, North of Armenia. Anichka recently bought a new house on a loan, hoping that the family would have relatively better living conditions.

“What will change if I complain? I do not complain. I work all day long. I have worked all my life, keeping domestic animals, cultivating the land. My son was a captive (prisoner of war - author). When I learned that he is going to be released, I was born again. My only wish is to see him on his feet again," says Anichka.

"As long as there are organizations like World Vision, we are not alone. They found out about my granddaughter Angelina from school and visited us. You cannot imagine how much they help us. Clothes, stationery, food,” Anichka continues.

Her family was involved in World Vision’s Poverty Reduction Program, which is a series of multi-sectoral interventions to help the extremely poor families to combat poverty. The support includes: social work with families, financial assistance to meet the most urgent needs, vocational training for family members, training in the field of parenting skills, provision of knowledge on healthy nutrition and hygiene of children, assistance in assistance in finding a job.

World Vision’s social workers, together with economic development professionals, designed a development plan for the family. As a result, Anichka’s family received a cow and a calf, along with animal feed for one year. The cows already have had several calves, which allowed the family to sell the calves and buy grass. They are expecting another calf soon.

“It is a village, the conditions are not good in general, but now we have a good bathroom with a washing machine, a sink. World Vision built the bathroom, also provided us with a TV. Our social worker Lusine is like a daughter to me. She calls, visits us to know how thing are going on, she is young, but there is a lot to learn from her,” says Anichka with joy.

Anichka is actively involved in the courses organized by World Vision. She perceives these courses as a very important initiative. “I have not missed a single lesson, even though I am very busy with household chores. I learnt so much there about child care, saving money, hygiene. The topics are really interesting,” says Anichka.

The effectiveness of World Vision’s Poverty Reduction Program is sustainable. 48% of the participating families have overcome extreme poverty, 90% have increased their annual income, 77% of their children have improved their health, and 82% of the families have had a significant change in their quality of life.