“2018 was the first year I visited Armenia with my family. Of course, my brother and I would hear stories of it growing up but we never actually visited and got to experience it ourselves. My parents planned a three week-long trip, two and a half of those weeks consisting of my mom and dad dragging a then fifteen and twelve year old all over Armenia. Initially, the thought of a trip that long sounded like overkill, but as soon as we began touring the country, the stories we were told did not come close to describing the beauty of it all. Intricate monasteries built thousands of years ago, beautiful nature, and people equally as beautiful in spirit and warmth. Towards the end of the trip, my parents had planned for us to broaden our horizons by joining the Paros Foundation for a couple of days. In those two final days we helped renovate Taline Music School and packed groceries for locals in Gyumri living in less-than-ideal housing situations as part of the Groceries for Gyumri project. If you ask my brother and I today what we remembered from that first trip in 2018, we could only tell you stories of the last two days we were there in vivid detail and with smiles on our faces and fondness in our hearts.

Since then, we have gone back to Armenia every year and every year we have gone back with The Paros Foundation in some capacity. In 2019 and 2022, we went as “honorary participants”, meaning we did everything but stay with the program in the SERVICE house.

2020 of course was a hard year for everyone, both in terms of COVID and the political tensions that led to war in Armenia. We did not go back that year. The following year, I went back as an official participant and truly felt as though I was a part of the group as I had wanted to be for so long. The experience was unique in itself. To add to it, my father had other aspirations for his trip. He took charge of a Paros’ medical mission called MedAid Armenia in which he provides checkups to kids in different parts of the country and we all tagged along, adding yet again ANOTHER layer of depth to the experience and making it all the more fulfilling.

In 2023, my brother joined as a participant and I joined as a coordinator, meaning I was in charge of watching the participants when we were not participating in a tour or a service day. This year, it was different. My brother and I had urged our friends to join the program and join they did. There were twenty-one kids (including the two coordinators) which was more than I had ever seen participate in the program. I was intimidated by the number initially, but as time went on… I was pleasantly surprised. There was not a day on the trip that didn’t go by with laughter and positive energy. And the days we worked the hardest, we had the most fun. We celebrated birthdays, went to soccer games, went to amusement parks, laughed, cried… words cannot describe how much fun we had together. I plan on going back again next year with the program.

After all of that, I should be able to say that I am an expert of the experience, but that would not even begin to be true because each year is so wildly different from the years before. The city grows, the people change, and you learn to see everything in a new way that is gratifying in the deepest regard of the word. I cannot recommend it enough. See you next year!”

-Renée Deramerian