Viva-MTS: Strengthened homes in the new house Housewarming after 13 years of expectation

Four bedrooms instead of one, a living room, a kitchen, and decent facilities that they were completely lacking before. In Gandzakar village of Tavoush region, the construction launched in summer is now completed. After 13 years of waiting, the Iskandaryans will now have a decent completed home instead of the semi-built building. The iron stove making the walls dark with ash has been decluttered, and now it’s in the yard. Instead, the house now is heated with a modern heating system. The work of the housewife, Nelly has become much easier.

In the house built through Viva-MTS and the “Fuller Center for Housing Armenia” support, two events have already been celebrated – the New Year and their daughter’s engagement. To prolong the festive mood they haven’t still taken down the Christmas tree.

”After so many years of hardships, I have finally calmed down, as we have a new home. We have managed to have several celebrations here. As a woman and a mother, I am happy that my dreams are fulfilled; my children have a good education and will live in a beautiful house. When living in the semi-constructed building, we lacked basic necessities. Now, we will live a decent life,” said Nelly, the housewife.

Instead of living a comfortable life, the parents have given priority to the future of their children; as a consequence, they had to constantly adapt to the conditions they had. The financial investments have been addressed to the higher education of their children. The young homeowner, Artak, has opted the path of leaving for abroad to earn money. As a result of the coordinated work of Viva-MTS and the “Fuller Center for Housing Armenia”, now all these are left in the past. Through a video call, the message to the family was not to leave the Homeland.

“Time spins away and it is better be used on good things. From that perspective our efforts coincide to some extent: we think about future and development. You have done two major things by, first, giving your children higher education and second, by initiating the construction of the house. And we, together with our partners, have been by your side trying to deny indifference and to ensure the well-being of people living in the regions. If we manage to solve a problem of just one person, strengthen hope and see decisiveness to stick to the homeland, then we can definitely say the program is much needed and is justified,” Viva-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian said during the video call.

Consistency of the partners in supporting the families significantly contributes to getting the desired result. Many families, who once considered it a far-fetched dream, now, celebrate a housewarming.

Viva-MTS (MTS Armenia CJSC) is Armenia’s leading telecommunications operator, having the widest network reach and spreading a wide range of Voice and Data services all across Armenia. Having the best of the Armenian people at heart since its launch on 1st July 2005 and in a short period of time Viva-MTS has managed to build a nationwide network and a considerable customer base. Viva-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), ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (Information Security Management System) and ISO 37001 (International anti-bribery management systems standard).

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (“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 86.5 million mobile subscribers in Russia, Armenia and Belarus. Since June Y2000, MTS’ Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about the MTS Group can be found at: www.mtsgsm.com

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 development. Since 2008 the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia has assisted about 1300 families. For more information, please visit www.fcharmenia.org or email us at fcarmenia@fcharmenia.org