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THERE ARE 156.7 THOUSAND DISABLED PEOPLE IN ARMENIA

Social


It is already a few months 42-year-old Sveta has settled in Yerevan with her four-member family. Sveta’s eldest son entered university in 2008, and the family had to move to the capital from the village of Arzakan. Mrs. Sveta says she has encountered difficulties since the first day of removal.


Mrs. Sveta is a second-degree invalid. She says she would be glad to lighten her family’s burden by doing everyday shopping but unfortunately she cannot.


“My family has always supported me. Yet, I always feel ashamed and depressed when in a company. I wish I could get in touch with people like me,” says Mrs. Sveta.


Note that in order to raise the awareness of disabled people and their families the government has declared a month’s campaign of protecting the rights of people with disabilities.


“Nowadays one can rarely see disabled people in the city as our streets and vehicles are not convenient for them. All structures and orgnisations dealing with the issues of the disabled are taking every possible effort to be helpful to them,” said Zaruhy Botanyan, representative of the “Bridge of Hope” NGO.


She finds that one of the achievements of the sphere is that Armenia became engaged in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007. The National Commission looking into the issues of handicapped people also has a key role in the sphere.


Note that according to the RoA Ministry of Labor and Social Issues there are over 156.7 thousand disabled people in Armenia and 42 percent of them are women.