Kindergartens in different cities of Armenia have become shelters for refugees. Some of the displaced persons from Karabakh spend days there in difficult living conditions, with uncertain future. From September 24 to October 20, 101,848 refugees were registered in Armenia, according to the Armenian government. Some found shelter, others got help. Some complain, however, that the money is not enough to rent houses and live normally. On October 20 a group of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians gathered in front of the region’s representative office in Yerevan, protesting the lack of affordable housing and other issues. Some of the displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh are still housed in government-run temporary accommodations, including old or empty buildings. Kindergartens in the small Armenian towns of Masis and Artashat have become shelters for refugees struggling to find more suitable housing.

The culture of volunteering has not been fully established in Georgia yet and most people don’t know where to start. Even though Georgians do a lot of things for their families and community, it is not often defined as volunteer work that is supported, respected and promoted by the community. In the country where working hours are unregulated, wages are low and social security is weak, the entire burden falls on a family. Therefore, it’s no wonder that people don’t find the time nor interest for work that doesn’t pay money. Ana Kuprava has started volunteering during the pandemic with Helping Hand, a NGO based in Tbilisi. Apart from visiting and helping the elderly, she now spends a lot of time as an ambassador, informing other young people around Georgia about volunteering to help them get involved.

The Georgian capital Tbilisi has become a magnet for young Azerbaijani artists, searching for a safe place to work and create.

A 23-year-old Ukrainian, far from home, tries to make life a little easier for Ukrainians escaping from the war. Around 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees have crossed into Poland since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukrainian Darina Hlava, 23, who has lived and worked in the Polish city of Poznan for the last five years, is helping refugees find a place to live, orient themselves in their new reality, register and get help. Poznan, the fifth largest city in Poland, has become the temporary home for 40,000 Ukrainian refugees.

Contending with a difficult pregnancy during a war and a blockade transforms a time of joy into a fight for survival. For some women, becoming a mother is a time of great happiness as they wait for the birth of the baby, eagerly counting every day. However, for women living in Artsakh, who have survived several wars and suffered the deaths of loved ones, under the blockade created by Azerbaijan and the constant threat of war in 2022-23, giving birth became a completely different process. For many, that longed-for expectation turned into a life-and-death struggle.

The village of Shukruti, like other villages in Georgia’s Chiatura region, is dying—slowly disappearing due to manganese mining beneath it.

Eighteen-year-old Katarina stands at a crossroads. Having just left the orphanage, she is preparing for her entrance exams while also taking part in nationwide protests.

A story about love, friendship, death and carpet