Tina from Armenia would like to say “thank you”
Published: Sep 3, 2021 Reading time: 2 minutes
Meet Tina Davtyan, a mother of two from Vanadzor city in Armenia. During the lockdown, she stayed at home with her children. Worried about making enough money for her family while dealing with the effects of COVID on her mental health, Tina was struggling. To provide some relief, an organisation called MIHR Creators Union (MIHR) -- supported by People in Need (PIN) -- selected Tina and donated a sewing machine to her. Now, Tina is back to work in a way that suits her unique needs.
Here, you can watch as Tina Davtyan speaks for herself:
Altogether, 50 vulnerable women were supported by MIHR through the EU-funded COVID-19 Solidarity Programme for the Eastern Partnership project. This project also enables vulnerable populations to provide aid to one another, offering a peer-to-peer model of support. Tina, for example, was asked to sew bedding for seniors in select retirement homes. Providing people with the tools they need to support and empower their peers means that the MIHR project has been able to reach 290 beneficiaries and counting.
However, the COVID-19 Solidarity Programme for the Eastern Partnership is not only about securing individual aid. It also focuses on providing assistance to civil society organizations to ensure that they are trained, capable and financially supported as they continue to combat the harmful effects of COVID-19.
Dorota Šuráňová, PIN coordinator of the Programme, offers some insight: “Within the project in Armenia we supported so far 17 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in different ways. CSOs received a series of trainings to enhance their implementing as well as reporting skills. They also obtained financial support for their Covid-19 mitigating activities. Last but not least, due to a challenging recent pandemic and political development in the country, representatives from 12 project CSOs used a change to benefit from offered psycho-social support.”
The aim of COVID-19 Solidarity Programme for the Eastern Partnership is to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 and to contribute to the longer-term socioeconomic resilience of vulnerable groups in Eastern Europe. Implemented by PIN, in partnership with the Netherlands Helsinki Committee and AFEW International, the project includes interventions in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
This article was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of People in Need NGO and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
