By Misak Ohanian | CAIA CEO
Empowering Disadvantaged Armenians
During the three lockdowns between March 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CAIA adapted its operations, successfully restructuring the way it delivers all its services while at same time complying with UK government regulations.
CAIA’s advisory services provide support to enable disenfranchised people to gain control of their lives, be able to make choices and ultimately shape the life direction despite external factors which they are unable to influence.
The beneficiaries of our diverse services, originate from 25+ different countries, including the UK. The reason for this is that Armenians are a dispersed people due to historical events including the Armenian Genocide during World War One. The single most important event which led to Armenian communities settling in different countries across the world, which to this day acts as a powerful unifying factor that bring them together as a group.
A century after the Armenian Genocide and the 1918 Spanish Flu, Armenians were once again the victims of simultaneously both a pandemic and the unprovoked devastating attack for 44 days by Azerbaijan supported by the military might of Turkey.
Our efforts throughout this period reduced the negative impact of the pandemic on the self-isolating older people, frightened children, those subsisting on low incomes, the jobless or furloughed, families in overcrowded homes, women experiencing domestic violence, the digitally excluded, those with uncertain immigration status, compounding their mental well-being. (See photo of advice clients benefitng from 4-day workshop in Job Search Skills at CAIA's Hayashen Centre West London November 2020)
To compensate for suspending some of our face to face services, CAIA organised weekly deliveries of free food hundreds of times prioritising the above people who were struggling on their own due to the lockdown. Where we could not help directly, we referred the vulnerable to local food banks, other charities and local councils to help.
Adjacent to CAIA’s advisory services, we also offer ESOL & 1-2-1 digital skills support to supplement their knowledge of their legal rights so that they can become more confident to exercise their rights. (See photo of grateful ESOL learners)
During the panedmic, thanks to the Havelock Family Centre, CAIA distributed 18 tablets to Armenians families who met certain criteria as part of a wider project to support children to do their homework online or remotely. The project helped a total of 100 families across West London from diverse backgrounds. (See photo of some of those who received the tablets)
More can be read about how we coped in our newsletter “Armenian Voice” which is posted to 3000 UK Armenian homes annually to promote our services.
https://caia.org.uk/armenian-voice-no-72-armenian-voice-no-73-published/
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