Harutunyan Family of Eight-Members gets a new home

On the 7th of December 1988, a severe earthquake occurred in the northern part of the former Soviet Republic of Armenia, during which the city of Spitak, Gyumri (at that time still Leninakan), and several other cities and villages were also badly damaged and even completely destroyed. The disaster costed about 25,000 lives, tens of thousands were injured, and hundreds of thousands were homeless.

In specific to Gyumri, before the earthquake, 250,000 people were living in Gyumri, today, however, its inhabitants are only about 100,000. Moreover, to this day, the consequences of the catastrophe are still visible; thousands of people still live in containers in which they were housed after the earthquake. These containers, which were intended as an interim solution, became their permanent home. They do not have a sewerage connection, in summer the steel containers get warm, and in winter they offer no protection from the cold, which can reach minus 25 degrees. Consequently, many of the inhabitants of Gyumri have emigrated because of these harsh catastrophic conditions, either to Russia or to the West.

The founder Albert Sevinc is often in Gyumri and knows the unbearable circumstances under which many families have had to live since the earthquake disaster. The four-generation, eight-member Harutunyan family is one of the families who witnessed the disaster and has been enduring the harsh living conditions in Gyumri. The container in which they were accommodated after the earthquake was their home for 29 years. Now the foundation has bought an apartment for them in Gyumri, where they can finally live a decent life.