The gates open with a loud creak and we enter the courtyard of a poor village house.

Seeing strangers, one of the children gets up and runs inside. In the yard, near the perimeter wall, there’s an old bed covered in various items; some junk, some household goods. A few seconds later, a young man comes out of the vegetable garden carrying a basket full of pails.

The woman of the house appears at the door and four young kids, all the same height, run into the yard.

“Are they all boys?” I ask. “Yes, but I have a girl who’s gone to see her friend,” says the mother, clutching the hand of the youngest boy who tries to break free and hide behind his brothers. The woman invites us inside.

The Davtyan family lives in the Shirak Province village of Mayisyan. The parents, 28 year-old Vesmira and Armen, got married in 2004. They have five kids, the eldest is five, and the youngest is two. Vesmira is expecting twins, a boy and a girl, in September.

Armen offers his apologies and leaves, promising to return later on. He has to collect animal dung from a neighbor’s barn and prepare it as fuel for the coming winter.

The family lives in a building classified as derelict and prone to earthquake damage. They don’t use one of the house’s two rooms because the roof might collapse at any moment. Not seeing anything resembling a kitchen, I ask Vesmira where she cooks the family meals.

“Here,” she says pointing to a small vestibule. “We have no kitchen to speak of.”

All the beds have been moved to the one room, along with a coach and the stove for burning the dung. Bread is cooked on a small electric stove. All have seen better days. But they purchased a washing machine a month ago with money saved up from the allowances they receive.

Armen has also bought a used car, but won’t say how much he paid. He adds that it’ll be used to transport potatoes from the field and to take the kids to town on occasion.

Also invited to the Davtyan house is village mayor Hakob Baghdasaryan, who tells us the family’s biggest dream is to get a new apartment. The family is on a waiting list for apartments for those left homeless after the 1988 earthquake that hit the area.

The family has been waiting for the past three years for the contractor, Glendale Hills, to come through.

Making due in impoverished conditions and raising four future soldiers, with another on the way, and staying put on the land, you would think the Davtyans have met their national obligations to a tee.  Nevertheless, the government hasn’t kept its end of the bargain.

“Having many children is a desire that I and Armen share. I had eight siblings and am used to large families,” says Vesmira. 31 year-old Armen adds that lots of kids brings him happiness.

The father damaged his eye while in the army and receives a 24,000 AMD monthly disability allowance. That, plus the 51,000 AMD in children’s benefits they receive, barely keeps the family afloat.

Armen is well liked in Mayisyan. Mayor Baghdasaryan says that he is often called on to help neighbors with farm chores and that all the money he’s paid goes to the family budget.

“Our Armen is very modest but also strict. He’s a bit envious as well as honorable,” the mayor chuckles.

When I ask the couple what they need and would like to have above all, they ponder the question a moment and in unison say “a new apartment”.

Unfortunately, this dream of theirs won’t be realized this year as well.

Glendale Hills   halted all construction in the provincial capital of Gyumri and surrounding rural communities in 2013.

Despite the bad news, Armen and Vesmira hope the arrival of the twins will bring positive changes; perhaps in the shape of a new home.