To find the Grigoryan family house in Maghavouz, a village in the northern Artsakh district of Askeran, we asked a woman in the village square.

Pointing to a rocky elevated portion of the village, the woman said,” You see all that wash hanging on the line? That’s their house.”

If you study what’s hanging on the line in some detail, you can probably guess how many kids are running around inside.

It’s an old non-descript village house, both inside and out. While two stories, only the top floor is inhabitable. Various children stuffed toys are seated on the couch along the walls blackened from stock from the wood burning stove.

“The house doesn’t belong to us but to a distant relative who hasn’t lived in the village for years. We thought about fixing it up but later changed our minds. After all, it isn’t ours. Why should we spend money on it?” says Karineh Badalyan, the mother of six.

Her main concern today is the home the government is building for the family after their sixth child was born. The walls of the new building can be seen from the Grigoryans’ living room window.

Two of the six children suffer from disabilities. On the advice of friends, Karineh sent them to the Noubarshen Special Needs School in Yerevan.

“One of the kids, when little, was bitten by a dog. They didn’t treat him correctly here. By the time we got the child to Yerevan, it was too late. The dog bite affected his development and attitude. So, we decided to send him to the special school. Everything was going fine until two years ago when they pushed Arman down the stairs. He received a head fracture. He’s home now and under my care. Tevos is my other boy with a disability. He has speech problems and is enrolled at the Noubarashen School. We visit him often and he comes home for the holidays,” Karineh told me.

14 year-old Arman can hardly walk and spends most of the day in bed. Karineh says that while she receives a child disability payment for Arman it’s not enough to pay for diapers. She says that she wrote to the ministry of labor and social affairs but was told that they couldn’t assist with diapers. The ministry did say it would provide the family with foodstuffs.

The only family member working is the father, Sergey Grigoryan. He’s an army employee who has decided to stay on despite reaching retirement age. His wages are more than the pension he’d received if he retired. The rest of the family income is derived from the various social assistance and disability benefits the government provides.

To lighten the load a bit, Karineh grows vegetables in the garden.

“There’s a water problem, especially in this neighborhood and in the summer. Usually, we are able to grow some crops before things dry up. This year, due to the drought, there was no harvest at all. None of the seedlings matured. We had to purchase vegetables for winter preserves.”

The arduous village life, family challenges, and the sound of gunfire echoing from the frontline military positions do not faze Karineh, who says she is ready to do whatever it takes to keep the family afloat.

“I spent eight years in military sports training. I don’t scare easily. Besides, my father is a native of Maghavous. He, along with his brothers fought for this land, and was wounded.”