Building homes, communities

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Partnership with Heifer International

On 4-5 November Heifer Project International Armenian Branch Office Study Tour group consisting of 19 Area Volunteer Coordinators from the USA visited Lori Region, the village of Debed to meet the families assisted within the framework of Heifer Armenia & Fuller Center for Housing Armenia Partnership.
Fuller Center for Housing Armenia, in partnership with Heifer Armenia, is implementing a program that helps the beneficiary families to establish small farms by providing them a pregnant heifer on condition that the first calf will be passed on to another needy family after three years.
Giving resources to the families who already have their own decent house Fuller Center for Housing Armenia together with Heifer Armenia give them the opportunity for life betterment: imagine families who once dreamed of having a decent home are also given the

opportunity to live better. This is also a good way to enable them pay back the zero-interest loans (only by selling the 60 % of the milk, they can pay back the loans). The project is enlarging, and now we also provide families with sheep and bees.
Up to now 100 Fuller Center for Housing Armenia beneficiary families were provided with cows, 42 families with bees and 15 families with sheep. This year already 35 families from Khachik village passed on the gift - the heifer to other Fuller Center Armenia beneficiary families thus providing another 35 families with resources and the opportunity for life betterment.

Last Updated ( Monday, 19 December 2011 11:46 )

Armenia Marriott Hotel Annual Build with the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia

“… I have always dreamed of having a home like those in big cities with all the necessary accommodations… we did not know where to go, where to live… we have been living in a one roomed metal container, called domik, for a long time, the roof of which was deteriorated and it was leaking when raining… Of course, it is already a vain to speak about any kind of accommodation… it was just a room full of dangers: snakes and scorpions from under the floor and water leaking from the roof… says 18 years old Narine, the eldest daughter.

Continuing Partnership : KPMG Armenia & Fuller Center for Housing Armenia Building Together

On July 16, 2011 KPMG Armenia staff members joined Fuller Center for Housing Armenia volunteers from USA in Dasht village, Armavir region, at building site helping to build the Gyozalyans’ house, a single mother’s house.

This is already the third year of joining forces with KPMG Armenia and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia, a example of corporate citizenship aimed at eliminating poverty housing in Armenia and also a good way of encouraging a positive impact on employees.
KPMG Armenia is supporting the home building in Armenia by financial contributions and volunteering activity, working side by side with the low income families.

“It was an interesting way of bringing a difference into life and at the same time doing some useful work for the people who needed it. It was both fun and rewarding.”—says Mikayel Sargsyan from KPMG Armenia.

KPMG Armenia was looking forward to the event realizing that they are making a way for a better life for one more Armenian family.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 September 2011 08:47 )

Cascade Insurance & Fuller Center for Housing Armenia - Home Build Day

June 6, 2011 -Cascade Insurance 13 Staff members joined Fuller Center for Housing Armenia beneficiary family of Davtyans at the building site in the village of Ashnak, Aragatsotn region.

Cascade Insurance staff members spent their day at the building site in Ashnak Village giving one more family the basis for prosperous future. The staff members were glad to build with the family in need thus giving them the opportunity to raise their children in safe and healthy conditions.

Nerses and Varduhi Davtyans with their 2 small children shared living space with Nerses’s parents and his brother’s growing family in a small, old house. Last year the family was selected as Fuller Center for Housing Armenia beneficiary family to receive no profit, no interest, no inflation included mortgage to complete their house construction. With the help of extended family members, local community as well as Marriott Armenia hotel and PwC Armenia personnel the house was almost done and the final touch was to make the sidewalks to keep the humidity away from the house. This work was done with the help of Cascade Insurance personnel, who also made a donation to assist the building program. Now the family is happy to have a nice, completed house.

Cascade Insurance looked forward to this event understanding that prosperity can be achieved only by united and hand in hand work. Only by this way we can help families to have basis for sustainable future.

“On behalf of the whole Cascade Insurance team we would like to thank “Fuller Center for Housing Armenia” for organizing this charity event. Helping the family of Davtyans also gave the company a teambuilding opportunity, thanks to which the staff is more united,” mentioned Hasmik Olson, head of marketing department of Cascade Insurance

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This Special edition is dedicated to our corporate partnerships, and introduction to our one time biggest individual donor.

Thanks to the generosity of our corporate partners, Fuller Center for Housing Armenia assisted many families to build their simple decent homes. Our corporate partners seek to be a good corporate citizens making a real difference to the communities in which they operate. They joined to build with our families and made financial contribution.

We value our corporate partners and invite new corporations to join us in 2011!

The Biggest Individual Donor, Jacqueline Ekgren

We always wrote about our volunteers, teams, family members, corporations and partners.

Now we are proud to introduce Mrs. Jacqueline Ekgren, an individual, who made the biggest, one time donation to Fuller Center Armenia by supporting 4 families (2 half builds and 2 renovations) this year. However our friendship with Mrs. Ekgren has 6 years of history, starting when she came to Armenia to volunteer, then contributing towards an air-conditioned van for volunteer groups, and now sponsoring 4 families to have their own home first time ever in their life.

A singer by profession (folksongs in many languages to own guitar accompaniment, church music, opera, musicals, pop, etc.) Mrs. Ekgren is the head of Ekgren Musikkinstitutt in Oslo; musicologist and researcher of “stev”, an old Norwegian type of folksong.

“Would you like to join my Habitat Women’s Build Team in Armenia in 2004,” wrote Habitat’s editor Milana McLead. My three adult children’s reactions? “Mommmm! you know nothing about the language, the culture, or how to build houses....We think you should go”. That decided it. I went. That summer’s experience of working side by side with you to build a house has changed my life. I have taken you and your country into my heart, and it is a joy to give something back to you” tells Jacqueline Ekgren.

Armenia Marriott Hotel, Yerevan, “Spirit to Serve”

It is the second year of our continuing partnership with Armenia Marriott hotel, Yerevan! It became an annual event to join forces and build with a family in housing need. The employees look forward to the event as it is a team-building activity too, interaction with employees of different departments outside of the work environment.

This time the group of 20 employees from the hotel including GM Ami Miron, executive management and employees from different departments visited Ashnak village, Aragatsotn region to build with Davtyans family.

“Every year we look forward to this cherishing activity as we are sure that with joint efforts and involvement we can help a family to start a better and more convenient life. This is one of the many initiatives that we become part of in the scope of our Spirit to Serve our communities actions as we pledge that every community will be a better place to live and work because we are there. This is a core value that Marriott International and our hotel proudly act upon and we want to set example for community involvement that our business partners, guests and other stakeholders will want to emulate”, said Ami Miron, the General Manager of Armenia Marriott Hotel.

PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) Armenia, a Viewpoint by FCHA Volunteer & PwC Employee

PwC is one of the world’s largest providers of assurance, tax, and business consulting services. Serving clients in Armenia since 1996, it opened an office in Yerevan in 2007. Lilit Matevosyan, Tax Consultant, was one of the PwC staff members who volunteered in Ashnak village in October. Here she is sharing her impressions:

"I have been a volunteer at Fuller Center (previous Habitat for Humanity team) for more than six years as a member of HabiArm, Yerevan community youth group. Its mission and primary objectives that are to help families to have decent and simple houses have always been close to my heart. For achieving these goals it requires close collaboration between the staff, families, volunteers and donors beginning from the family selection stage, through the building process, completion and to the long-term relationship stage. For me volunteering at Fuller Center has not been just all about the inputs, such as ideas, time, efforts or money, but I have also gained my best friends, valuable experience, practical skills and great excitement after each time when we achieved the primary goal – having one more family living in its own comfortable house.

Though I have participated in many building and various projects organized by Fuller Center, however, the building event in Ashnak village was even more special for me since I represented PricewaterhouseCoopers Armenia where I currently work. Once again it was a great opportunity and excitement for me to help the family in need. It was really great to see how my colleagues, the beneficiary family members and villagers were working side by side for the common goal and turning the dream into reality. I hope very much that our collaboration will continue in future and other local businesses will also join and contribute the projects of Fuller Center."

By Lilit Matevosyan