Blog

The following programs have been running since the beginning of the year with the funding of the Women’s Fund Armenia։

Astghatsolk NGO – Women’s club meetings

We have been cooperating with the women’s club initiated by the Astghatsolk NGO team in Chambarak since 2023. As part of the women over 40 program, members of the women’s club have organized several meetings for the past two months. During the meetings, the participants discuss various issues such as tolerance, violence, self-confidence of a woman over 40, opportunities, overcoming internal crises, hobbies after 40, etc. Meetings with a psychologist and gynecologist also took place during the program. Meetings are accompanied by art therapy.

Svetozar NGO

Within the framework of the “Age is only a number” program, Svetozar NGO provided professional counseling to rural women over 40 regarding health issues caused by menopause and to alleviate and eliminate them. Psychological conversations were organized about emotions, the emergence and manifestation of emotions and their cause-and-effect relationships, as well as the formation of women’s positions to emphasize mutual support, healthy intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships. A number of concepts and their explanations were also presented, such as gender, gender roles, stereotypes, etc. More than 220 women from Ararat region participated in the program.

Satik Badeyan – promoting women’s economic activity, highlighting their problems in the community

Lchashen community is famous for its historical discoveries. Starting the cooperation with Satik Badeyan, we also received new information about the community and the findings of the ancient kingdoms. Satik Badeyan has been trying to activate women in various fields of social entrepreneurship for years. Satik is also the founder of the guest house-restaurant named “Etiuni” in Lchashen. During our visit, a number of women from the Sevan community participated in the meeting with the gynecologist.

Resource Center for Women’s Empowerment NGO – Hrazdan

In 2023, the  Fund has started cooperating with the Resource Center for Women’s Empowerment NGO, located in Hrazdan and being the only women’s support center in the Kotayk region.Cooperation includes support for the ongoing work of the organization, the team, as well as the capacity building of the organization’s beneficiaries. We are happy to start this cooperation. During the visit, we got to know the NGO team, talked about the organization’s various programs, needs and future plans. During our visit, a training with regional social workers took place in the Center, which was carried out in the framework of another program of the Center.

Satenik Balabekyan and Piruza Petrosyan – Charentsavan

Satenik Balabekyan and Piruza Petrosyan are employees of the Charentsavan municipality, who have implemented a number of social programs for the community outside of their formal work in the past few years. Both lead an active life, combining their work responsibilities and commitment to community. The Fund has started cooperating with Piruza and Satenik within the framework of the grant program for women over 40 in 2023. We are happy to see that partners are organizing meetings with various women of Charentsavan’s enlarged community and talking about a number of important issues, such as gender inequalities and their impact on women’s lives and decisions, women’s unfulfilled dreams, age crises, etc. The topics of the meetings, which were launched on April 5, are diverse. There will also be meetings with a psychologist, a gynecologist and a yoga practitioner.

Art House cultural-educational NGO

The Fund started cooperating with the NGO in 2023. Within the program called “40 or… and etc”, workshops were organized in the form of open conversations-discussions dedicated to the maintenance of mental health of women over 40. During the meeting, a number of issues were discussed, including mental health issues, how to take care of mental health, spiritual health, etc.

Gohar Khachatryan

Gohar conducted self-defense training for 18 girls and young women in Gyumri, during which she imparted skills and knowledge to the participants, helping them prevent and effectively respond to unwanted situations, from verbal harassment to physical violence, as well as establish their personal boundaries and make decisions that are in their best interests. Participants learned to recognize dangerous situations, various communication skills, including how to confidently use an assertive voice and body language in dangerous situations, how to set healthy boundaries, how to say “NO” and ask for help when needed. Participants also learned the five principles of self-defense and how to physically defend themselves if necessary.

Susanna Shahnazaryan

Susanna Shahnazaryan holds a series of discussions with the participation of women in an informal setting, on the topic “When I was younger”, during which women tell their stories about what has changed in their lives after 40 and what they would change if it were possible. Short essays will be prepared on the issues and stories raised during the discussions.

Hripsimyants shunch NGO

Hripsimyants shunch NGO has announced the start of the marathon entitled “Hogu Trichq” (Flight of the Spirit). The goal of the project is to increase the quality of life of Stepanavan women over 40, who have tangible and deep-rooted issues such as low self-esteem, negative perceptions of body and age, passive lifestyle, absence of physical and emotional space, etc.

Democracy Today NGO

During 2022 the Women’s Fund Armenia cooperated with Democracy Today NGO in different program formats. One of them was the research on women in army and military service in Armenia, their needs and the reasons women go to army in Armenia. This project was finalized on January 31st with a presentation of the results and recommendations of the research by the members of Democracy Today. During the meeting, the summary of group and individual interviews conducted with women specialists in the military sector was presented. NGO representatives also mentioned a number of recommendations that are important for the improvement of the sector. Representatives of the Ministry of Defense, female students of military schools, as well as representatives of the Human Rights Defender’s Office and non-governmental organizations were present at the meeting.

Center for Legal Initiatives NGO

On January 31st we participated in the “Response to COVID-19 Pandemic in Criminal Justice System: Challenges and Solutions” event organized by the Center for Legal Initiatives NGO. Representatives of the Ministry of Justice and other related governmental agencies, Ombudsperson’s Office, members of Embassies and local NGOs were present at the meeting. The research on women’s situation in prison and probation service that has been part of collaboration between the WFA and the CLI NGO will be available soon.