A Wave Of Clean Water For Artsakh

The village of Karotan in Artsakh did not have access to clean, drinkable water and as a result many members of the community fell ill with serious intestinal infections. ONEArmenia partnered with the Tufenkian Foundation in order to build a stone basin into which fresh water was diverted from a nearby stream.

It provides clean water for 465 people in Karotan and neighboring Vardabats, Kumayri and Pakahan. Though this campaign was successfully funded in July 2013, the Tufenkian Foundation encountered major roadblocks with local government (who had pledged to match the funds raised to cover the overall cost of the project) and elected to use the funds raised by 1A to implement a similar project in the nearby village of Nerkin Sus.

While this is generally a positive thing, it is not ultimately what our global community crowdfunded for. After regrouping with the Tufenkian Foundation, we learned two things: first, Artesian wells were recently discovered underneath Karotan that could be rehabilitated for a much lower cost than drawing new pipelines as detailed in the original plan. And second, that Tufenkian Foundation donors pledged to provide the funds needed to implement a clean water system in Karotan.
In November 2014 the Karotan campaign was complete and 465 people in Karotan and neighboring villages had access to clean water. While Karotan is no longer under Armenian control as a result of the 2020 Artsakh War, this doesn’t change the fact that for almost 6 years local people’s lives were transformed thanks to this campaign.