Seventeen-year-old Avagyan M. lives with his mother and sisters in a small house in Ninotsminda, Javakhk, where they barely make ends meet. Avagyan and his family moved to Javakhk from Russia nine years ago after his father was killed in a car accident. While his mother initially found work at a local sewing factory, she eventually had to stop due to health problems.
Today, the family tries to grow their own potatoes to survive the winter and Avagyan and his sisters constantly look for odd jobs whenever they can. Despite the hardships, Avagyan tries his best to excel in school and at sports like soccer and biking. Now in tenth grade, he has received many academic awards for his grades. Avagyan was one of the recent recipients of a Children of Armenia Sponsorship Program (CASP) stipend during the recent CASP distribution in Javakhk.
This vital support will help Avagyan and his family purchase the necessities they need, and will ultimately enable Avagyan to continue to stay in school, graduate, and become a professional.