The photo of Davit Navsardyan stands on the small desk as one enters the house.

Navasardyan, a soldier from the Djrakous village in the Hadrout district of Artsakh, was killed by an Azerbaijani sniper last October.

Alongside the photo is a poem by eldest son Sergey dedicated to the memory of his father. Sergey’s grandma tells me that on the day Davit was killed, Sergey stayed awake all night to pen the ode to his father.

Nora, Davit’s widow, recounts that her husband was supposed to come home on a shift change that eventful day.

“He phoned and told me he’d be back. But I don’t know why he decided to make a final round of the frontline positions,” Nora says.

Before joining the army, Davit had worked here and there but given that the wages were insufficient to support his family he decided to serve in the military for the time being.

“We lived at Davit’s grandmother’s house. It was rough. I was expecting my fourth child,” says the wife of the Artsakh War vet.

Today, the family of seven lives in that same two story house lacking the basics. Davit’s grandma recounts that the house caught fire twice during the war and that only simple repairs were made.

After Davit died, benefactors from Armenia chipped in to construct a shower and toilet on the first floor.

Nora tells me she has filed an assistance application with the Hadrout District government. She was told that there was no money in the coffers to provide any assistance for housing improvements.

Hadrout District Deputy Director Armen Ohanyan told Hetq that they received Nora’s request and have passed it on to higher-ups in government.

“We have carried out our responsibility and we must now wait for the government’s decision and financing. Maybe money will be earmarked next year,” said Ohanyan.

Nora says that the family’s only problem is remains renovating the house. Her late husband’s pension and the wages she and her children earn are enough to live on.