Today it is critical for our people to survive. Emergency preparedness is a basic survival skill. SYUN for SYUNIK includes a number of projects. Each of them has a goal to improve this preparedness.

The First Aid Training program for which we collaborate with our partners at VAL Charitable Foundation is one of the most important projects for SYUN and because of the critical situation in the region we are currently focused on Syunik. From January of 2022 groups of population from Goris, Khoznavar, Kornidzor, Qarashen, Togh, Aravus and other towns and villages were trained.

Another project is the logical continuation of the First Aid Training program: the establishment and operation of the Emergency Response Training Center (ERTC) in Goris. Not only regular first aid courses are being conducted in this center, but it also serves as an emergency response hub in the region. Throughout its existence the effectiveness of the center has been proven many times since September of 2022. On different occasions during military attacks from the Azerbaijani armed forces the center served as a hub for saving lives: our rapid response team organized round-the-clock duties and were able to react and show necessary first aid as quickly as possible.  Following Azerbaijan’s military attack on September 19 2023, more than 100,000 refugees were forced to flee from their homes in Artsakh to Armenia. Many families from Artsakh needed immediate critical support as soon as they arrived in Syunik. We at SYUN collaborating with our partners at VALresponded to this emergency situation by converting our Emergency Response Training Center in Goris to a refugee camp.

In the current critical situation, a communication problem may arise in the border villages of Syunik. In order to establish communication with the Goris ERTC and other services 2 radio repeaters were acquired. These 2 repeaters are set up for secure communication and must be connected with an optical line, and this will provide all the necessary communication in the region. In addition to this, a mobile radio station has been installed on ERTC’s off-road vehicle which was acquired thanks to SYUN’s supporters.

We are starting another project in support of Davidbek Games, a competition-festival organized by the non-governmental and non-profit organization of the same name. The festival brings together the youth of Armenia in majestic Sunik once a year for an exciting week full of games, hiking, music, dances, literature and healthy competitions. The goals of the Davidbek Games are to increase the patriotic spirit, to promote the physical training and the development of tactical skills of the young generation.