Reuters
Feb 12 2003
World Vision International
Regions: Armenia, Europe
Armenia is experiencing its coldest winter in 130 years with
temperatures dropping as low as -30C. The freezing conditions pose
a serious threat to the lives of people who don’t have the luxury of
heating in their homes.
At present, less than 700 buildings in Yerevan, the capital city
with a population of over 1.2 million, possess central heating. This
number is decreasing every year due to the lack of funds, with the
entire network crippled and in urgent need of repair. Despite the
relatively low cost of centralised heating, about 60% of residents
cannot afford the payments. In many areas, centralised heating
facilities are completely out of order. Residents have no choice but
to use electricity, although the cost exceeds the monthly income of
many Armenian families. Due to the overloaded power facilities and
frequent blackouts, many residents spend evenings in their dark,
cold apartments or gather around old-fashioned wood stoves, burning
whatever is flammable.
In the capital, the old water pipes and sewers are frozen and
severely damaged, leaving the residents of 360 buildings without
running water and sanitation. The bitter cold and damaged facilities
have restricted children from 116 schools from resuming their lessons
after the Christmas holidays.
In some regions, the resumption of the natural gas supply has helped
solve the problem, to a certain extent.
With the felling of trees strictly prohibited, the cold winter has
become unbearable for many, especially for children and the elderly.
In Tavush region, where WV Armenia started its new Area Development
Program (ADP) at the end of 2002, the cold conditions has come as a
shock to many parents, who do not have warm clothes for their children
and wood to heat their houses. In addition, heavy snowfalls have
isolated many villages from the outside world for a number of weeks.
Winters are especially harsh in Gyumri, where many people still live in
temporary shelters and unfinished houses following the earthquake back
in 1988. This year in Mush-2, one of the four communities where the
ADP is implemented, WV Armenia implemented a relief program providing
over 360 families with 1400 kw electricity vouchers. This amount will
help the residents to heat their apartments for about 2 months, but
considering the fact that winter in Gyumri usually lasts until April,
this is really not enough.
In Sheram I community, WV Armenia implemented a natural gas pipeline
construction, and negotiated 50% off the gas payments with the
Government. As a result, by the end of December, over 90 families
were provided with natural gas for heating and household use.
“Every winter the walls in our living-room were covered with ice,
and we couldn’t even imagine having natural gas here. Thanks to World
Vision, today we have it and can keep at least one of our rooms warm.
It is still very expensive for us to heat the entire house,” says
Margarit Harutunyan, a resident of Sheram I. Her husband is unemployed,
as are many people in Gyumri. Margarit’s son Yuri is one of 1,500
sponsored children in the Gyumri ADP. Over the last two years, Yuri
has benefited from the school feeding program, GIK distributions and
has had the opportunity to enjoy time at a Christian Summer Camp.
By the end of January, the temperature had reached its average for
this time of the year, but meteorologists are warning of a new wave
of cold in the next two months.
Website: http://www.wvi.org
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