83-year-old Elmira Dalakyan lives in the refugee district of Ashtarak. She says that in 1989 she and her son emigrated from Baku on the last plane. She lost her husband.
She lived in a temporary shelter in Yerevan until 1995, then moved to Ashtarak, where houses for refugees were built.
Her son has been living in Russia for many years.
Elmira was engaged in active social activities in her youth, and despite the difficult socio-economic situation of the 1990s, she found a job in Armenia as well.
- I worked in the Moscow construction organization, then in the Ministry of Construction until retirement, - says Elmira.
As the volunteers of the Ashtarak branch of the Armenian Red Cross Society admit, it is very easy to communicate with Elmira.
- I like to communicate with neighbors, Red Cross volunteers, I don't like to be alone. I am a hospitable person, and I like to visit myself.
Within the framework of the "Winter Aid" project implemented with the support of the Swiss Red Cross, 490 single elderly people in Gegharkunik, Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Kotayk, Tavush, and Syunik receive food every month, hygiene items every quarter, and volunteers visit them every week and celebrate the holidays together.
