Emergency Response & Recovery

Since November 2020, seven Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) have opened in the town of Goris and the villages of Shurnukh, Verishen, Qarahunj, Vorotan, and Khndzoresk. These facilities, funded by the United States Agency for International Development and established by People in Need in conjunction with the Goris Municipality, provide services to 450 displaced and local children and their parents and aim to enhance the children’s cognitive, emotional, and social development․ Since September 2021 CFSs run with the support of EU humanitarian aid. 

The CFS provides a number of services and benefits for the communities they serve. Psychological services, including individual counseling sessions, are available for children and their parents. Children can also gain valuable skills through a variety of trainings, events, and community initiatives, while parents have the opportunity to participate in sessions on positive discipline. Capacity-building sessions are held for CFS specialists to keep the activities of the facilities up-to-date, and to enhance the skills of the providers.

In order to provide humanitarian aid to people affected by the Lachin corridor blockade—which has been ongoing since December 12, 2022 - People in Need, Mission Armenia, Armenian Caritas, and the WINNET Armenia network of women's resource centers have formed a consortium to support about 10,000 people affected by the blockade․

With Start Network funding, PIN and our fellow consortium members are helping vulnerable people through local CSOs. We are providing a variety of supports such as winter clothes, food, psycho-social support, and youth and women engagement activities through craft skills, etc. 

The selection of beneficiaries and the implementation of works are organised in cooperation with the consortium members and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Syunik Marzpetaran, Goris Municipality, and the Nagorno-Karabakh representative office in Armenia. 
 

The project aims to provide immediate support to the vulnerable population in Armenia; while focusing on displaced people, hosting families, and vulnerable individuals who stayed in their villages during the conflict. As a result of a new wave of attacks on the sovereign territory of Armenia in September 2022, 7,600 individuals have been displaced from the regions of Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor, and Syunik.

The project aims to cover the needs of the vulnerable conflict-affected and host populations in Armenia through utility payment.

This 6-month emergency response will reach 4,225 unique individuals and will be implemented by a consortium of PIN and ACTED. The project will be closely coordinated with relevant authorities and emergency actors to avoid duplications and complement other ongoing responses. Read more here.

Thanks to the funds from the START Network, under the "Emergency Response for Internal Displaced Populations in Armenia" project, People in Need (PIN) helped people in the Syunik region affected by the Azerbaijan aggression on September 13-14, 2022. The conflict has caused displacement and severe trauma. Vulnerable groups like children, the elderly, and women are particularly at risk in a context where state support is limited and access to critical services is poor.

The project was led by ACTED in consortium with PIN and Mission Armenia and specialising in the Vayots Dzor, Gegharkunik, and Syunik regions of Armenia.

PIN provided hygiene and baby kits, as well as first aid kits to families and health facilities in the Syunik region. We were providing hygiene kits to 300 families and baby kits to 100 mothers, first aid kits to 300 beneficiaries who are able to provide first aid care, and medical kits for 10 health facilities.

The project partners ACTED and Mission Armenia provided multi-purpose vouchers and psycho-support services, respectively. 
 

Years later after the escalation of violence in Nagorno Karabakh, the issue of displaced persons settled within Armenia remains high on the agenda.

The Displaced Family Support project, implemented with the kind support of the US Agency for International Development, aims to improve the quality of life of displaced families living in Metsamor city, Armavir region by providing them with job opportunities. Displaced and vulnerable people throughout Metsamor's amalgamated community had an opportunity to develop their capacities. These families were encouraged to engage in viable microenterprises to increase and diversify their sources of income through the initiation of new activities. The project also facilitates social cohesion between displaced families and the host community.

Selected beneficiaries among the displaced families and host community attended training on baking technology, specialty, and alternative baking, pastry arts, food service management, financial literacy, and business management. The most successful and motivated participants were selected for employment in the newly created Mets & More Bakery, which was established within the project, or received livelihood kits to support their income generation abilities.

To mention, Mets & More is more than a bakery. It has been established in pursuit of social cohesion between displaced families and their host community; it creates job opportunities for the displaced and vulnerable families. Part of the proceeds from the bakery, in collaboration with Metsamor city municipality, will ensure the community's implementation of the development programs.

To foster proper assimilation and social integration of displaced families within the host community, PIN in collaboration with Metsamor city municipality established an additional childcare unit within the existing kindergarten. Further, 17 families living in the shelter were provided with new doors and windows in order to ease their daily worries and ensure thermal insulation.



Read more here. 

 

 

Relief and Early Recovery for People Affected by Conflict in Armenia, the REACT project, is working to meet the needs of over 17,000 displaced people in the most turbulent regions of the country. Through this project, People in Need (PIN) aims to provide continuous relief aid to those most vulnerable and respond to mounting early recovery needs in Armenia.

PIN is working to support people in five selected regions of Armenia: Kotayk, Ararat, Armavir, Vayots Dzor, and Syunik. With winter quickly approaching, teams working with REACT will help provide tools necessary for living through the cooler months. Providing utility support subsidies for 2000 displaced households, eco-briquettes for 500 families, and winterization kits to 200 families will help keep homes warm in colder temperatures.
 

Through the REACT project, PIN will also assist the economic integration of conflict-affected populations in Armenia. Providing vocational counsellors to help vulnerable people locate gaps in professional experience and identify relevant skills will allow over 1,500 beneficiaries the opportunity to financially support themselves. This program also provides assistance in drafting CVs, networking, advising, and interviewing.

Alongside economic counselling, PIN will organise short-term vocational and educational training courses in varying subjects. Following completion of this course, 700 participants will receive livelihood kits containing tools selected to help them start their careers as soon as possible.

Additionally, PIN will continue the operation of seven child-friendly spaces in the Goris community of Syunik Province. Through this, children have the opportunity to partake in recreational activities, participate in various cultural and sightseeing events, and perhaps most importantly: play with their peers.

The REACT project is implemented in partnership with ACTED, the Association of Armenian Social Workers (AASW), and Mission Armenia NGO. Our partnering organisations work on other key aspects of integration and aid in Armenia. This support includes multipurpose vouchers assistance, legal counselling, advocacy, case management, mapping of services, and referral systems.

This project is made possible thanks to generous funding from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

This project contributed to saving lives, promoting wellbeing, and strengthening the resilience of vulnerable displaced and host populations affected by the conflict in Armenia. The project is funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and implemented by People in Need (PIN) in partnership with ACTED, REACH, Association of Armenian Social Workers (AASW), and Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation (ART).

This project responded to the needs of about 20,000 conflict-affected persons via a multi-sectoral program that aims at addressing the most pressing shelter, hygiene, and psychological needs of populations.

PIN increased access to safe and winterized shelter for the most vulnerable conflict-affected populations and supported host families with utility payments. The selection of the beneficiaries will be closely coordinated with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MSLA), local municipalities, and the marz administrations. 

The conflict in Nagorno Karabakh has triggered large population displacement to Armenia. The majority of the displaced stay in host families or collective shelters, such as kindergartens, that are ill-adapted for long-term stays due to poor hygiene and inadequate or insufficient facilities. This population influx raises serious epidemiological concerns, as poor hygiene and overcrowding in host communities and collective shelters are the ideal conditions for COVID-19 transmission. This crisis is furthered as Armenian citizens are struggling with the COVID-19 outbreak.

This project, funded by the European Union and implemented by People in Need (PIN), targets about 2400 conflict-affected persons by addressing their most pressing basic hygiene needs.

The contents of hygiene kits are aligned with national and international health standards.

“The hygiene kits include more than two dozen items in different quantities for COVID-19 prevention, self-care, and house/shelter cleaning: there were family kits for general usage and additional individual packages for children, women, and seniors.

PIN also produced a needs assessment report to ensure that conflict-affected populations have improved access to evidence-based relief.

Activities were focused on the Syunik region, specifically the Goris extended community, the city of Goris, and the Tegh extended community. 

People in Need, with funding from the US Agency for International Development, supported those affected by the conflict in Armenia by addressing their most pressing hygiene and winterisation needs, as well as by helping to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The project covers all of the regions of Armenia and responds to the needs of approximately 10,000 beneficiaries.

Using an integrated Shelter, Health and Wash response, the project is focused on:

• Enhancing access to safe and winterised shelter for the most vulnerable, displaced populations;

• Protecting the displaced and their host communities from the spread of COVID-19 by enhancing their awareness and enabling them to adopt practices to minimise the risk of transmitting or contracting the disease; and

• Ensuring that the most vulnerable populations affected by the conflict are able to practice basic hygiene and infection prevention behaviours.