Sasunik, Armenia — December 1, 2009 — Jora, Shoghakat, and their six children—including a newborn—live in an old shipping container outside of Sasunik in central Armenia. They have no kitchen, no running water, and no indoor plumbing. Sasunik is a poor village of 2,000 people and jobs are hard to come by, so Jora, the father, keeps busy at home in their small vegetable garden and carries water from the village to their home.

Their neighbors, Asya and Khachik, are similarly desperate, with six children and a seventh on the way, and no steady income. “We love our children,” said Asya, the mother. “We want them to be together and be lucky, support each other and be strong. We hope that they will be able to create a better life for their own children. We do our best to keep them fed and clean, but we cannot afford more than that.”

International Relief & Development (IRD) learned about these families from a national e-newspaper and immediately stepped in to help. Staff members in the office in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, along with the U.S. Embassy pulled together packages that included quilts, food, school supplies, clothing, diapers, and cleaning products. Many of these supplies had been brought into the country through an IRD shipping program funded by the U.S. Department of State.

In November 2009, IRD staff members, representatives from local NGOs Talin-hope and Vernatun, and State Department officials delivered the packages to the two families. “We really appreciate your assistance,” said Shoghakat. “It is of great joy to [our children] and of immense relief to me and my husband.”