Providing education for 150 children in Armenia

Dear Donors,

Thanks to your generosity, we support children living in remote communities in Armenia. As this project educates children who are marginalized from society, it is important for us to follow their progress, with education as a priority.

The main purpose of the project is to support the vulnerable and working children of the remote marzes of the Republic of Armenia. By using our specially designed course plan, we help them to acquire a basic education and create an unconstrained environment where children can communicate with their peers, acquire new friends, and fully integrate into society.

This time, the beneficiaries were instructed to record good and bad behavior during the week using a worksheet. For example, Mane mentioned that she won an exhibition but on the negative side reported that she had an argument with a close friend. Hayk noted helping his friend make a Christmas tree toy as good behavior, and as bad behavior he mentioned that he shouted at the teacher. This kind of social integration work helped our team to identify the perceptions and behavioral aspects of the beneficiaries.

During the next task, the participants were instructed to name the anxious thoughts that they wanted to let go of. Again, we would like to single out the examples of Mane and Hayk. Mane noted strained relationships in the classroom, as well as thoughts of illness, etc. Hayk mentioned conflicts with people, the state of war, and haste. This work also gave the beneficiaries an opportunity to think about their troubled thoughts. At the end of the meeting, we designed a creative task where the beneficiaries had to identify a good deed to undertake during the 12 days of the holidays. Mane's good deeds included buying gifts for all members of the house, helping mom with Christmas decorations, helping grandma and mom make sweets, etc. Hayk also mentioned buying gifts for family members, reading books with his younger brother, etc. This task provided an opportunity for our team to understand how the beneficiaries perceived doing a good deed and its continuity.

Dear Donors,

This program is full of both educational and social integration activities. We are happy to report that, day by day, the beneficiaries stabilize their thoughts, future actions and, most importantly, realize that education is the best force for building strong communities.