Loyal to the best traditions, VivaCell-MTS & Fuller Center for Housing Armenia continue building homes

It has become a pleasant tradition for VivaCell-MTS and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia to get united to build a home every month, the press office of VivaCell-MTS has told ArmInfo. This time VivaCell- MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian, staff members from the company and the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia team participated in the construction of the half-built house of Kakoyan family from Melikgyugh community of Aragatsotn region. 

The Kakoyans are one of the families who till now have not been able overcome the difficulties caused by the 1988 disastrous earthquake till now. 27 years have already passed from that time but the family has not been able  to  put a stone on the stone to finish the contsruction of the half-built house. After the earthquake the Kakoyans have lived in a yurt with Rouben?s parents and relatives, altogether 11 persons, and then the family moved to Ashtarak town where they rented a house.

"In less than a year my husband's health state worsened, and we had to return to our village. We found this metal container (domik) and have been living here till now. I've already stopped hoping that one day we will have a home and my son, Roman, will marry. This spring, when our family was selected to be assisted through the housing project, I regained the belief that my dream of so many years will come true. One month ago my son got married. I am sure that we will have a home till the end of the year. It's impossible to put the happiness and gratitude into words. May God bless all supporters,'' Tamara Hayrapetyan, the mother of the family, said.

Owing to the housing project financed by VivaCell-MTS and implemented by FCHA the housing problem will stay in the past for three families of Melikgyugh community this year.
"The housing problem of the people hit by the earthquake has always been in the focus of VivaCell-MTS attention. In 2008 and 2011, 40 homeless families from Gyumri and Vanadzor were able to move from temporary shelters to new houses, owing to the project implemented by the Company. Unfortunately, the housing problem still remains unsolved for many families. I am glad the cooperation between VivaCell-MTS and the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia will help one more Armenian family live in decent conditions," VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian said.

"A month ago, when we paid a regular visit to the Kakoyan family, we were surprised to learn that the number of the family members has increased. It was really a pleasant surprise. It's exciting  to see how the outlook of having a safe home can stimulate the person, make him/her act, believe in his/her strength, love his/her Motherland more and make deeper roots in that land,'' the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia President Ashot Yeghiazaryan said.
To remind, in 2015 VivaCell-MTS invested AMD 100 million (in 2014 - AMD 55 million) for the realization of the project, and Fuller Center for Housing Armenia has undertaken its implementation. Through this partnership, from 2007 up to now, 53 families from different communities of the Republic already have decent homes. Till the end of the year the number of the families having their houses renovated or the construction of the half-built houses completed, will reach 93.

VivaCell-MTS (K-Telecom CJSC) is Armenia's leading mobile operator, having the widest 2G/3.75G/4G network reach and spreading a wide range of Voice and Data services all across Armenia. Having the best of the Armenian people interest at heart since its launch on 1st July 2005 and in a short period of time VivaCell-MTS has managed to build a nationwide network and a considerable customer base. VivaCell- MTS drives innovation and aims at always being at the forefront of any development serving the Armenian mobile communications market.  The company follows the guidance provided by ISO 26000 (International Standard of Social Responsibility). 

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS") is the leading telecommunications group in Russia and the CIS, offering mobile and fixed voice, broadband, pay TV as well as content and entertainment services in one of the world's fastest growing regions. Including its subsidiaries, the Group services over 100 million mobile subscribers. The Group has been awarded GSM licenses in Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Uzbekstan, Armenia and Belarus, a region that boasts a total population of more than 200 million. Since June 2000, MTS' Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). 

Fuller Center for Housing Armenia is a non-governmental, charitable organization that supports community development in the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh by assisting in building and renovating simple, decent and affordable homes, as well as advocating the right to a decent shelter as a matter of conscience and action. FCHA provides long-term, interest-free loans to low-income families. The monthly repayments flow into a Revolving Fund, which is used to help more families, thereby providing a financial foundation for sustainable community development. Since 2008 the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia has assisted more than 400 families.