Location: Shirak region, 30km from Gyumri
Population: 425 (205 men, 220 women an 90 children as for December, 2011)
The community in Goghovit is very responsive and open to new ideas, especially when these ideas come from outside. This is common for many communities in Shirak region. People tend to trust and expect more from foreigners. One of our goals has been to reestablish people’s trust that they can make a difference through mobilizing their community and investing local resources.
Goghovit is an average community in Shirak, where the main source of income is agriculture. It has beautiful landscape and nature during springs and summertime. However, the winters are cold and long- because of the snow, the road connecting Goghovit to Gyumri can be closed for several days during the winter.
There is a school and a house of culture (recently renovated by Valery Vladimir Rudakov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gold Mining Company Polus LTD) in the village. The school has also been recently renovated through the Social Investment foundation of Armenia. The church in Goghovit requires a major renovation, as the building is semi-destroyed.
WFD started working in Goghovitt in 2008. The community center was established in 2011 with the goal of mobilizing people and addressing some of their problems. The Goghovit
development strategy paper for 2012-2014 was published in 2012.
Some of the main problems in the community are potable water, destroyed roads, gasification and absence of heating system in the school, unemployment and poverty, etc.
Ongoing projects:
The establishment of a bakery in Goghovit is currently in process. The project has received support within the Paros Foundation 100 projects.
Homeland handicrafts was launched in Goghovit with handmade sweaters in Autumn 2012. The project helps talented rural women to use their skills and make a living. Manushak Nersisyan, was the first one to be involved in this project. Now she has formed a group of women and teaches them knitting skills and techniques. Manushak makes handmade sweaters with traditional Armenian symbols and carpet patterns.
There are also other projects in Goghovit available for funding. Please contact us if you
are interested in contributing towards development in Goghovit.