Friends, Araksi Markarian is in despair, she has absolutely no one to ask for help. We are her last hope! It is in our power to support her, Yura and Anna, to bring them back the belief in a better future, belief that the world has not turned

Araksi: After the divorce, my children and I found ourselves here, in my parents’ house, completely without any livelihood. You see, we have no one to ask for help at all. My ex-husband's family has forgotten about us, and my mother has a nervous breakdown after my father’s death; and she lives only on her pension. The social allowance is just tiny, and it’s not enough for anything!

- How did you find yourself in such situation?

Araksi: It hurts me very much to talk about it ... I will not tell you in detail how I lived with my husband ... He used to drink and gamble, and of course we used to have conflicts ... I can only say that he betrayed me and the children. He traded us for a better life ... He just filed for divorce behind my back and left for Germany. And kicked me and our children out. As far as I know, another bride was already waiting for him there. My ex-mother-in-law also followed him. I have no contact with them...

- Did you get married for love? How did you meet your husband?

Araksi: What are you talking about? I was only 16! I just entered the Institute of Foreign Languages, I was eager to study, to get a specialty, to work! And he was doing repairs in our apartment, and once he treated me to Coca-Cola ... I drank it, fell down and woke up in Tbilisi at his relatives’ place. I didn't want to get married ... But according to our traditions, I was considered to be disgraced, so I had no way to turn back. Moreover, my parents thought that I myself ran away with him. They were very angry ... My dad didn't talk to me for 5 years! I lost my first child when I was 6-month-pregnant. I worried so much... Then Yurochka was born. At first, my husband doted on him, his firstborn, son! But then everything went wrong again, there was no way to eradicate this addiction to gambling in him ... He got into debts ...  I would have endured everything for the sake of the children, if he hadn't fled to another country and kicked us out. My daughter Anna was only a few months old when we divorced, she does not know her father.

- And what happened next? Did you return to your parents’ place?

Araksi: I had to. My father was alive then, he always treated me in a special way, he always used to support me, and my mother still cannot come to terms with the fact that my marriage fell apart ... I worked as a cashier in a store, and my dad looked after the children. He took them from school, from kindergarten, Anna called him dad ... The poor man died of cirrhosis one year ago. The earth disappeared beneath my feet, it was only he who understood me and supported me. As I already said, we do not have a very warm relationship with my mother, she still cannot forgive me my divorce, she blames me. She is not herself after my father’s death. I tried to move to a social shelter with my children, but I just could stand two months there. It was so dirty there and the conditions were awful! It could be okay for me, but what about the children? I had to return to my parents' house again, my mother gave us the kitchen, and she herself huddles in one room. There is no heating here at all. I am grateful to her that we still have a roof over our head. But it is cold and damp here, the heater went out of order ... Our neighbors gave us this sofa, the three of us sleep here, we barely fit on it, and it is about to fall apart.

- You have absolutely no one to ask for help?

Araksi: We have no one, my husband's family has long forgotten about us, and I only have my mother. She is not be able to help us, her pension is all her income, and her health is not good at all. And I can't find a job. I lost all my teeth because of nerves, who will hire a woman like that? This pandemic in addition to everything...Our neighbors help us, share lunch with us, they even gave us a TV. I don't even know what would have happened to us without this support. One woman found our contact information at a social agency, she brought toys to the children and some food ... We are so grateful to her for that!

– What do you believe in? In what do you see the salvation?

Araksi: Only Faith in Lord supports me and does not let me fall into despair. My children and I go to church and also pray at home. Many thanks to our priest! He knows how hard it is for us, and he also does his best to help us with food. I don't even know what I would do without the help of kind people.

– Did you address anybody for help? The local authorities, for instance?

Araksi: Many times! They promised to fix our gas heater, but no one has come so far. And we are entitled to a scanty allowance for the reason that we are housed. This tiny kitchen is called housing ... And no one is interested in our living conditions and in the fact that the house does not even belong to us!

– What is your income?

Araksi: 130 GEL of social allowance plus 60 GEL food coupons. Thank God, at least they give us food at the social canteen, otherwise we would not manage to stretch our allowance for a month. Because besides all, we have to pay utility bills!

– What do your children eat? What is their everyday diet?

Araksi: Porridge, pasta, broths, now they even give us the whole chicken at the canteen - once a month. This is a luxury for us! They also give us flour, I bake bread myself, it turns out cheaper. My children are not picky, they eat absolutely everything what I cook. If there is nothing, they don't complain, they are happy with tea and bread.

- Tell us a little about them, do your children study well, what are their hobbies?

Araksi: I can be proud of them! They are very diligent, but this pandemic ... Imagine, at school they told me that they would expel my children if they didn’t attend classes. Yura and Anna missed the entire semester last year because we had no way to connect to the Internet. So, I had to provide connection and buy a used phone, but now we have extra expenses because of that ...The kids are very talented, they love to draw, and Anna wants to take dancing classes, but I really don't have money to pay for that, I have to refuse her this too ...

– Can I talk to your children, please? Yura, you are the oldest, let’s start with you. Do you like studying? What is your favorite subject?

Yura (12-year-old): I like history and natural history the most. I think these subjects are the most interesting!

– What will you become when you grow up?

Yura: Well, I haven't decided yet, but I think I will become a sailor, I will go on long voyages on a huge beautiful ship. I want to travel and see different countries...

- Do you like sea? Can you swim?

Yura: We often go to the seaside with mom in summer, my mother teaches me to swim, but I'm still bad at it ... We always have so much fun together on the beach, we splash in the water with my sister, play ... And the sea is so huge and beautiful!

Anna (7-year old): I also really love the sea and really want to learn to swim! I also want to dance! I dream of becoming a ballerina when I grow up! And I also want to work in a beauty salon ...

- Really? What are you going to do there?

Anna: I will do beautiful hairstyles and paint nails there! I will be beautiful myself and I will make beautiful everyone who comes to me!

- Oh, you have huge plans! Anna, do you have a favorite toy?

Anna: Yes, this gnome, his name is Smurf. He sleeps on the sofa with me, mommy and Yurik. True, we don't fit very well, but mom doesn’t mind, because he can freeze at night! It's so cold in here!

- What are you dreaming about, Anna?

Anna: I really want a doll with a stroller, many, many sweets, and also a tablet to attend lessons! Because Yurik and I have one mother's old phone for the two of us ...

Yura: I want a tablet too! You can do whatever you want there: study, draw, play!

– Yura, what is your biggest dream?

Yura: I dream that my mother and sister and I would have our own home and that we would be a happy family...

- What do you call a happy family?

Yura: It’s when everyone is happy, smiling, and no one quarrels with anyone ... And when mom does not cry ...

–  What is your biggest dream, Araksi?

Araksi: I dream about the same things as my kids. About at least a tiny house of our own! And so that my children were not in need of anything ...

– What do you think, you need most in your home?

Araksi: Gas heater! We are freezing, this is the so called "Italian yard", it is very damp here ... The sofa where we sleep is falling apart, and it is very small for us. Children are growing up ... They really need a computer - on-line learning has become a real problem for us! We need a refrigerator too, I can't cook dinner even for a couple of days, everything gets sour!

We will be grateful for any help, my children are constantly malnourished and need absolutely everything. I am very embarrassed to ask, I addressed you only for their sake!

- How did you learn about our Fund?

Araksi: From social networks. I came across your post, then visited your Facebook page, saw how many people you help. I decided to write to you, and you called! No one from those who I addressed responded to my cry for help, except you.... You gave me hope that at least someone is not indifferent to the fate of my children!

***

  Friends, Araksi and her two young children - 12-year-old Yura and 7-year-old Anna - really need our support! They have experienced so much sorrow, so much pain, and live in such terrible poverty that we simply have no right to pass by such a misfortune! A single mother with two children is freezing, they sleep on a tiny, ruined sofa. Yura and Anna are deprived of absolutely everything, they are constantly malnourished, they do not have normal clothes and shoes, and they even don’t have the opportunity to study normally. And we know that children are the future of our country!

  Araksi, Yura and Anna are in dire need of any help. They need food, a new sofa, a refrigerator, computer, shoes and clothes for the children.

  You can visit them and provide all possible help to the Markarian family.Their address is: Batumi, 83 Demetre Tavdadebuli Str,

  Or you can call Araksi and cheer her up with your kind words Phone: 555 46 25 76.

  Please repost our publication. Let your friends know about the grief of this family! It’s extremely important!

  God gives us chances to care about people who are unable to take care of themselves. Do not pass by someone else's trouble! Those poor people are sent to us by heaven so that we could prove not by words, but in deeds that we trust in God!

  Friends, there is one more request: if you know about the misfortune of a neighbor or friend do a godly deed, drop us an email at: office-fsp@fsp.ge.

Our Fund’s accounts are: 

#GE15TB7194336080100003

#GE42LB0115113036665000

#GE64BG0000000470458000

(Purpose: the Markarian family).

You can also transfer money from our website.

  It is also possible to transfer money from Nova Technology, TBCpay and ExpressPay terminals. Find our Fund under "Charity" section (You can read more about rights and responsibilities of the Fund following the link https://goo.gl/GY2Gus ).

  We have already helped many disadvantaged people! Let’s support Araksi and little Yura and Anna, as no one is immune to bad luck! And who knows, maybe someday we ourselves will need help of strangers!

One call saves life - 0901 200 270.