AGAPE Children’s Home, Lachin, Kashatagh Region
Lachin, Kashatagh Region, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2006
While in Lachin I made a return visit to the AGAPE Children’s Home to speak to its Director Samuel Kocharian. The institution which is generally referred to as a Boarding School by locals was established in 1995 and accomodates 27 children deprived of appropiate parental care in the region. Most of the children are from villages surrounding Lachin, but there are also 8 from Karabakh proper.
All are from socially vulnerable families which is kind of ironic given that most of Lachin’s settlers came to the area with the promise of a better life. Many of the children come from single parent families and some are “illegitimate.” However, since the budget for the Kashatagh region was transferred from Yerevan to Stepanakert, the Children’s Home doesn’t receive finance on time.
Indeed, said Kocharian, they haven’t received a penny for food in the past 8 months. He also said a lot more about the situation in Lachin and surrounding villages on the record, but that will have to wait until I get round to writing up my articles.
Lachin, Kashatagh Region, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2006
