Fuller Center for Housing Armenia

The Fuller Center for Housing Armenia builds and renovates homes in partnership with people in need so that all Armenians may have a safe, comfortable, simple home which is affordable to own and to maintain.

The Fuller Center for Housing Armenia focuses on completing unfinished houses, replacing and repairing roofs, and installing sanitation and heating systems for low-income families in both urban and rural areas. From April through October each year, the Armenia program hosts teams of international volunteers who help build and repair houses.

Fuller Center Armenia provides long-term, interest-free loans to low-income families. Their monthly repayments flow into the Revolving Fund and are used to help more families, thereby providing the financial foundation for a sustainable community development effort.

TFCH relies on volunteers and donations of money, goods and services to keep costs as low as possible.

Housing Need in Armenia

Of the approximately 800,000 families living in Armenia, about 40,000 or 5% are without permanent shelter. About 40% (2% of the total number of households) live in temporary structures resembling shipping containers, so-called domics, in the earthquake zone.

Dormitories and damaged unsafe housing provide shelter to 10% of the households living in temporary shelters. Others live in former hotels, schools and kindergartens which were converted to temporary housing. Alongside those without permanent shelter are the tens of thousands of families requiring better housing conditions. Altogether it is estimated that approximately 100,000 households are either without permanent housing or need urgent assistance owing to, among other things, overcrowding (see the references)

Many families had begun to build their own homes after the collapse of Soviet Union.With the ensuing economic crisis, homes were left unfinished - thousands of these foundations and semi-structures can be seen littering the countryside. Many families live either in the dark and dump basements of such houses unable to complete them.

International volunteers

Fuller Center for Housing Armenia hosts teams of international volunteers to build with local families.

For available dates, please check [http://www.fullercenterarmenia.org/get-involved/int-v/ FCH Armenia Website] .

References

[http://www.unece.org/hlm/prgm/cph/countries/armenia/welcome.html/ UNECE Country Profile on Housing Sector: Armenia]

External links

* [http://www.fullercenterarmenia.org Fuller Center Armenia home page]
* [http://www.fullercenter.org Fuller Center home page]