Comforting Workshop
16 May 2024, Thursday | 133
A 23-year-old Arman Begoyan (the name is changed) is the beneficiary of the STRIVE for a better future: communities and civil society resilience in Armenia project.
With the support of STRIVE’s emergency response sub-grants, Arman’s life quality was improved. The project was implemented by Equal Opportunities and Equal Rights NGO in Lori region.
Arman is a participant of the 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he lives in a small house in a village and has got a second degree of disability (he lost his one leg during the armed conflict). The project, as his mother expressed it, was ``something like a miracle''.
During the first meeting with Arman, it became clear that he had stopped believing in the promises made by various organizations and individuals, who came, took pictures, made promises, and left with no further actions.
When the project was introduced to Arman and his family during the initial meeting conducted by EREO NGO, Arman’s mother honestly talked about all difficulties that Arman faced constantly in his everyday life. However, as a primary need, they highlighted the bathroom, which was not available inside of the house. Adjacent to their small house, there was a small stone building that served as a bathroom. However, the position and the conditions of that building were not adjusted for people with special needs and Arman could not enter alone, without the help of his parents. This causes psychological and physical traumas and challenges.
Within the framework of the project, it was decided to reconstruct the bathroom and make it suitable for Arman, contributing to the improvement of his life quality. As a result of a totally rebuilt bathroom, Arman now can use a convenient and affordable bathroom alone which positively impacting not only his life quality but also on his psychology.
"I really needed a bathroom to be accessible to my needs due to the disability, I couldn't use it without help and I constantly asked my parents for help. This was psychologically difficulty as I lost independence. The new bathroom enabled me to be more independent and be confident on my own strength. Believe me, one of my dreams came true. Thank you so much for implementing this program, I would also like other boys with special needs, like me, to be able to be involved in such program”.