Before the pandemic, Karine Sahakyan*, 34, had spent years suffering from her husband’s beatings and her mother-in-law’s abuse at their home in the Ararat region of Armenia. The coronavirus lockdown forced her to find the courage to save herself and her children.

The country has struggled to contain the virus over the past several months, but doctors have successfully treated over 27,000 patients, including 101-year-old Nazani Simonyan who was diagnosed with Covid-19 and double pneumonia. 

Martin Sargsyan, 29, had big plans for 2020.

This was going to be the year his family opened their guesthouse on their farm in Mets Sariyar, a village in Armenia’s north-west Shirak region. 

The entire family took part in the process: Sargsyan’s father focused on the family’s long-standing beekeeping business, so his mother and his wife could dedicate their time to decorating the guesthouse and planning the menu. At the beginning of the year, the two-story, three-bedroom guesthouse was ready for tourists.