Packs on Backs Armenia: Vanadzor Orran

The Heros Humanitarian Foundation (HHF), a Los Angeles based non-profit organization, supports children in need and their educational advancement. The organization was founded in 2008 by six Armenian Americans with the belief that no child should be deprived of the essential necessities needed for their education regardless of their socioeconomic status. Their mission is to provide backpacks and school supplies to children living in poverty and from low socioeconomic households around the world. Through their Packs on Backs initiative, HHF hopes to motivate children, help them stay and excel in school, and have successful futures.

The Heros Humanitarian Foundation has partnered with The Paros Foundation to bring their Packs on Backs initiative to Armenia. After the successful distribution of 280 backpacks and school supplies to children in Gyumri’s impoverished neighborhood, our goal is to provide the same assistance to 100 children attending the Orran Center in Vanadzor.

Vanadzor is Armenia’s third-largest city and the capital of the Lori Region. It is also one of the three main cities that suffered during the devastating 1988 Spitak earthquake. The dismal situation of Vanadzor is evident through its consistent decrease in population due to high unemployment rate, poor living conditions and the low prospect of development. Orran, an organization focused on diverting children from the streets and engaging them in academic, cultural, and extra-curricular activities established a center in Vanadzor in 2012. Children ages 6 to 18 and who come from economically deprived families attend the center regularly. Currently, numerous children in Vanadzor cannot attend school because they don’t have the basic necessities. Sponsorship of this project will help give 100 children at this center backpacks and school supplies. A donation of $30 will help obtain a backpack filled with supplies for one child. School supplies will be grade appropriate and include a combination of pencils, pens, pencil cases, notebooks, folders, erasers, sharpeners, glue, scissors, rulers, highlighters, and crayons. In-kind donations of the items listed are also welcomed.