Gavar, Gegharkunik Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Habitat for Humanity 2006

Yesterday saw another visit to the Gavar site for the Habitat for Humanity Catholicos Karekin II Work Project. Another team of volunteers from the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church in the United States were working on site, and after speaking to one of them I discovered that they’re posting accounts of the experience so far.

July 14

We got up today, put on our Habitat for Humanity t-shirts, and boarded the bus. After picking up the other Armenian youth group we’re working with in Ashdarak, we headed to Oshakan to begin our first day of work. Once in Oshakan, we had a short church service and Habitat Orientation. We watched a short video about the kind of work Habitat does and the difference our work makes on the people whose houses Habitat builds. We were then sent to begin our new project. With our work boots and gloves on, we began removing yellow paint off the walls of an old house. Four people got to work on the roof. Their main responsibility consisted of scraping rust. By lunch, most of us were covered in yellow paint and the break was very welcomed. While working, we were also interviewed by several different Armenian media companies and we were even asked to sing in front of the camera while working. When lunch was over, half of us went to Edesia, where we had to peel wallpaper off the walls of an old house. The other half stayed in Oshakan and continued doing the work we all began that morning. The two groups reunited and we returned to Yerevan for a free evening.

July 15

Today, we went to the Gavar worksite, where we all together were responsible for passing buckets of gravel and sand up to the roof of a three-floor apartment building. About four people stayed at the bottom to shovel the mix into buckets and then sent it up the long line of us until it reached the roof. After working for a while, we had lunch. When lunch was over, we went to a nearby church called the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary and said a prayer. When we got back to Yerevan, we had free time for the rest of the evening.

July 16

This morning, we got up and went to Etchmiadzin for Badarak. The two-hour service seemed long at parts, but we were given priority seating on each side of the altar. When the service came to a close at the Mother See of the Armenian Church., which was built 301-303, we were given a little bit of free time. Then, we had an appointment with Vehapar. Armenian Church Choir Organization joined us at this meeting. He greeted us and expressed his appreciation for our work in coming to Armenia and embracing our heritage. During this meeting, such topics were brought up, such as the importance of the Armenian Church for our identity, the challenges of the Armenian Church, the role of women, youth, and education, and the Church’s relations with other churches worldwide. We also had an interactive discussion, where we were given the chance to ask whatever questions we desired.

[…]

July 17

Today was another Habitat workday. We went back to the Gavar worksite and continued to move buckets of gravel and sand up several flights of stairs to the roof of the three-floor apartment complex. We stopped for lunch. In the afternoon, we finished moving one pile to the roof and got stared on another. We returned to Yerevan for the evening.

The full entries by the Armenian Church Youth Organization of America can be read online here. If you’re reading this after July 2006, use the drop down menu at the bottom of the page to find the account of which there should be more over the coming days, weeks and months.

Gavar, Gegharkunik Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Habitat for Humanity 2006