Sixty-two-year-old Siranush Mardanyan starts her day with a hot cup of coffee on the balcony of her home. Her eyes roam over the dilapidated areas of the house and unfinished reconstruction, which serve as a constant reminder of the death of her husband three years ago, and the worsening condition of her son Arayik, 38, who lives with a disability. 

 

Siranush and Arayik were accepted into FAR’s Soup Kitchen Program in 2014, which provides them with a balanced, nutritious meal once a day, five days per week. The Berd Soup Kitchen is not far from their house and it provides crucial food support for around 120 people from low-income families, including seniors living alone and people with disabilities. 

 

“We make coffee on this stove using cardboard for the fire. Unfortunately, there is no gas and no money to install the pipes so we have to pick up firewood from here and there to heat the house in winter. The soup kitchen has become our means of living. We usually have our food in the afternoon and wait for the next day, around 1:00 pm, to go to the soup kitchen. We have to fend for ourselves over the weekends. We have a small farm and no accommodations to water plants, so I can’t grow many crops, mostly just some bean plants,” said Siranush who used to earn a living by working in a bus station café as a cleaner for many years. She became unemployed 10 years ago due to salary cuts.