PORTRAITS OF PROMISE
Ararat’s family in rural Armenia deals with a variety of these different dimensions. Neither of his parents has the security of a stable job. His father repairs houses to meet the family’s needs, but the work isn’t steady. Ararat’s mom has only a secondary education, so her employment opportunities are limited as well. This is also because their village is quite small, so there aren’t a lot of factories or industries needing low-skilled workers. To help her husband provide for their family, Arafat’s mother takes seasonal work in a nearby greenhouse and tends to the small vegetable plot they have in their yard. One of the biggest challenges the family faces is the lack of access to clean water. Without running water or a nearby well, they have to go to another village, fill up bottles and buckets, and carry it all back with them. During the pandemic, as families are being instructed to stay home for their own safety, having to leave the house to get water provides even more stress. On top of all this, Ararat’s family is facing housing insecurity as they shoulder a huge debt left to them by an uncle. It’s impossible for them to pay the debt off and keep providing for their children. Ararat’s parents fear their only option may be to sell their home. With such stress and uncertainty, it can be difficult for parents who are grappling with poverty to emotionally invest in their children. They don’t always have the time or emotional capacity, which can leave children emotionally neglected and lacking the skill sets they need to properly process the anger, fear or trauma they may be experiencing. In this way, poverty can be generational, as children learn to survive at an early age by operating out of this emotional and physical scarcity.
According to UNICEF, 28% of children live in monetarily poor households. Younger children often suffer from a lack of nutrition while older children are often deprived of leisure or social relations. Fully 12% of children ages 15-17 are not enrolled in any type of education or training3. 3 https://www.unicef.org/armenia/en/reports/state-child-poverty-armenia-2016#:~:text=In%20Armenia%2C%2064%20percent%20of,in%202%20 or%20more%20dimensions.&text=Children%20who%20are%20deprived%2C%20are,live%20in%20monetary%2Dpoor%20households.