Nurse L: A Story in Pictures

Lilik and her husband, Tigran moved to Aghavnatun, Nagorno-Karabakh in 1995 from Yerevan, Armenia. There has never been a medical center in the community. Her home has been the clinic. The community consists of 150 people from 3 villages – Harar, Khachgetik and Aghavnatun. Lilik attends to newborns, pregnant women, patients with high blood pressure, people with all kinds of illnesses. 2 years ago, the community received a van to transport villagers back and forth, but before that, she went everywhere by foot. In the past, she has managed to reach her patients even in rainstorms and hailstorms. Their community has depopulated and repopulated three times. Life in Aghavnatun is very difficult and the basic luxuries of city life are generally absent. Lilik hopes that one day soon, a clinic will be built in their community. She says that a clinic would be essential to the “sustainability and healthy progress of an entire community.”

Because the community has no nearby health clinic, Lilik provides care to her patients from her home, which lacks many resources and equipment. Here, she is found washing her hands, as her reflection from the mirror above her sink produces a solemn portrait.

The three villages that make up the Aghavanatun community have been provided this bus, which brings the children to school every morning.

Here is Lilik, preparing the medicines in her bag as she awaits a house visit.

These are the only medicines easily available in the community, all located in the home of an elderly nurse named Lilik, who moved to Aghavnatun from Yerevan twenty years ago. The current supply hardly enough to meet the needs of these 3 villages.

Lilik leaves the house every day at 8:30 in the morning as her husband, Tigran, sees her off.

Lilik is the one responsible for ensuring the health of the residents in Aghavnatun. Because the community has only one bus for transportation, she uses the same transportation as the children to reach her patients and do her work.

Lilik usually gives the children check-ups when they are all in one place at the school.

Although there aren’t very many children enrolled in the school, only 22 students, they eagerly look forward to the recess period when they can play and enjoy Aghavnatun’s natural landscape.

Lilik waits for the bus to come to bring her to the day’s patients. The distance between the three villages, however, is very large and the roads are in terrible condition.

Lilik travels by foot to visit her next scheduled patient.

Lilik listens to little Armen’s lungs. He is 3-years-old.

The young mother, Aghavni, is awaiting her third child, which they predict will be a boy. Lilik checks the status of her pregnancy the best she can, to ensure there are no complications.

Lilik prepares an injection for one of her patients. It’s often that the patients will purchase the medicines themselves, because Lilik’s supply is so limited.

Lilik is hopeful that the future holds a clinic for the 150 residents in Aghavnatun’s community that will bring a solution to the health issues they currently face.

To support the campaign called to build a clinic in Aghavnatun (by OneArmenia ) go to the campaign's page.