Displaced but not Defeated with FAR

Lilit Jivanshiryan, 38, is a bacteriologist by profession who worked for ten years at the Stepanakert sanitary station before 2023, when she, along with 120,000 Artsakhtsi Armenians, was forcibly displaced from her homeland. Currently, Lilit lives with her family in Sisian and works at the local Medical Center as a laboratory doctor.

Lilit frankly notes that she couldn’t find a job in her original profession, so she decided to apply for FAR’s residency program and pursue a second profession as a laboratory doctor, a path that finally led her to employment. She completed a one-year residency program in clinical laboratory diagnostics at Yerevan State Medical University, with financial support from FAR covering the whole tuition per year. Since May, she has been working at the Sisian Medical Center.

“Having received my second specialty, I feel like I’ve found myself again. I have a job in Sisian, I have the required credits and diploma for this specialty, and I feel in my place now,” she says.

Born and raised in Stepanakert, Lilit originally graduated in biology. Although her diploma qualified her to work as a teacher, she chose not to pursue that path, as she always loved medicine and laboratory work.

“Thank God, I met good people on behalf of the FAR health programs team who came here, introduced the program, and encouraged us to apply… and I did. The new reality has given me strength to live,” she notes with a beaming smile.

Lilit works as an assisting doctor and performs more than 100 different types of analyses for both adults and children from Sisian and nearby communities. “We do everything -blood, urine, smear,” she says adding: “Life and work in Stepanakert were different, and I can’t even compare them with the current situation. However, we have found our new life in Sisian. My kids have adapted to their school and kindergarten. Sisian is a quiet and clean city. On weekends, we usually travel to the nearby villages and enjoy the region’s beauty.”

"Sponsorship of Postgraduate Education for Artsakh-displaced Healthcare Providers," in collaboration with the Armenian Medical Fund and Dr. Raffy Hovanessian Medical Education Fund, aims to support 17 physicians and 4 nurses who were displaced from Artsakh to Armenia in October 2023. Through specialized training sponsorships, including clinical residencies, the goal of the program is to facilitate their integration into Armenian healthcare facilities, equipping them with necessary expertise and licensing for employment.

To help more displaced Artsakh doctors find employment and new hope after displacement, please consider donating to FAR today.