The Paros Foundation launched the Debi Arach Children’s Center in Gyumri, Armenia on April 15, 2015 with the help of generous donors. The center, which provides 170 children each week the necessary academic, psychological, social and humanitarian support, has since been a source of positivity in this city. The residents of Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city have endured very devastating realities since the tragic 1988 Spitak Earthquake. More than 100,000 residents were left homeless, and plagued with unemployment and rampant poverty for years to come. In turn, the fate of children in Gyumri has also been affected. Dealing with the difficulty of finding means to feed and care for their families, many parents are unable to provide their children with the proper guidance, supervision, educational aid and the financial resources for them to excel in school and have successful futures. The Debi Arach Children’s Center, which in Armenian means “moving forward,” helps these socially vulnerable children through a holistic approach providing them with both humanitarian and educational support. The center provides counseling and group therapy with a psychologist on staff, homework help and tutoring for almost every subject the children learn in school including English, Math, Art/Design, and Computer classes. Additionally, they are served a nutritious meal everyday, helping them receive the calories and/or nutrients they would otherwise not have. Furthermore, the Center addresses a very important hygienic need by providing the children in attendance with supervised bathing facilities. The goal is to help hundreds of children develop a vision for a successful future, and to give them the skills they need to reach these goals. This project is impacting the lives of hundreds of socially vulnerable children by helping them gain the guidance and support they need in order to create greater future opportunities, and become successful individuals and good citizens.

To date, the center has already had several important successes. At least nine children have been taken out of boarding schools, attend our center and now live back at home with their families. Many of the children who were receiving poor grades in school are now achieving top scores. The children have become socially well adjusted and much more healthier than before with the continued consumption of multi-vitamins and a daily well-balanced meal. Staff trainings have begun with an academic counsel of professionals from the United States and Armenia to ensure that the children are receiving the best care, treatment and methods for their development.

The center is working on funding year four and raising additional funds in order to develop and add to the programs and classes offered with the ability to hire more educators, and get more supplies, and equipment. Funds will also be used to supplement daily activities, hold forums for guest speakers and provide educational and career planning opportunities. $77,000 is needed to cover operating costs for the Center. In January of 2017, Debi Arach successfully launched its first program within its Vocational Training Center, teaching children computer programming, 3d printing and robotics curriculum. The goal of this newest component is to provide these children with marketable job skills in order to help them work themselves out of poverty.

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the City of Gyumri. Many of these families took refuge in the overseas shipping containers (domiks) that were shipped into Armenia loaded with humanitarian relief supplies, or in condemned buildings. An entire generation of children has grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat. The Armenian government has provided most of the families that lost their homes in the Earthquake with new housing units.

As people moved out of those makeshift housing units, others moved in. The 2,500 or so families that remain are Gyumri’s desolate families, who are not in line to receive a government provided apartment. Many of these families are comprised of single mothers, multiple children and/or the disabled.

This project will identify suitable needy families who can be moved into a new apartment and can demonstrate that they can afford their monthly utilities, etc. This is a sustainable model in that families that have been moved into permanent housing in the past have had a high degree of success maintaining their families and their new homes.

Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be destroyed to prevent its future occupancy.

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the City of Gyumri. Many of these families took refuge in the overseas shipping containers (domiks) that were shipped into Armenia loaded with humanitarian relief supplies, or in condemned buildings. An entire generation of children has grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat. The Armenian government has provided most of the families that lost their homes in the Earthquake with new housing units.

As people moved out of those makeshift housing units, others moved in. The 2,500 or so families that remain are Gyumri’s desolate families, who are not in line to receive a government provided apartment. Many of these families are comprised of single mothers, multiple children and/or the disabled.  This is a sustainable model in that families that have been moved into permanent housing in the past have had a high degree of success maintaining their families and their new homes.

Jhanna and her two sons live in deplorable conditions.  Their domik is located along Gyumri’s sewer lines, and when it rains, their domik gets filled with sewage.  Jhanna has a disability and a problem walking.  She does not have a husband.  Both of her son’s attend one of Gyumri’s boarding schools because of their terrible living environment and are often ill.  Once the funds are raised to move Jhanna and her family, their make shift housing unit will be dismantled to prevent its future occupancy.

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the City of Gyumri. Many of these families took refuge in the overseas shipping containers (domiks) that were shipped into Armenia loaded with humanitarian relief supplies, or in condemned buildings. An entire generation of children has grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat. The Armenian government has provided most of the families that lost their homes in the Earthquake with new housing units.

As people moved out of those makeshift housing units, others moved in. The 2,500 or so families that remain are Gyumri’s desolate families, who are not in line to receive a government provided apartment. Many of these families are comprised of single mothers, multiple children and/or the disabled.

This project will identify suitable needy families who can be moved into a new apartment and can demonstrate that they can afford their monthly utilities, etc. This is a sustainable model in that families that have been moved into permanent housing in the past have had a high degree of success maintaining their families and their new homes.

Aram, Yevgine and their daughter Anna live in a domik located essentially on a main street in Gyumri.  The family moved into this domik when they got married.  They have little hope of receiving an apartment through a government program.  Anna, their daughter, has a slight developmental problem that effects her speech.  They are under considerable pressure from the city to move their domik off the road as it effects the traffic pattern and is unsafe to live in such a place.  Aram and Yevgine are fearful that their daughter, Anna could be hit by a car if she is outside alone.

Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be destroyed to prevent its future occupancy.

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the City of Gyumri. Many of these families took refuge in the overseas shipping containers (domiks) that were shipped into Armenia loaded with humanitarian relief supplies, or in condemned buildings. An entire generation of children has grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat. The Armenian government has provided most of the families that lost their homes in the Earthquake with new housing units.

As people moved out of those makeshift housing units, others moved in. The 2,500 or so families that remain are Gyumri’s desolate families, who are not in line to receive a government provided apartment. Many of these families are comprised of single mothers, multiple children and/or the disabled.

This project will identify suitable needy families who can be moved into a new apartment and can demonstrate that they can afford their monthly utilities, etc. This is a sustainable model in that families that have been moved into permanent housing in the past have had a high degree of success maintaining their families and their new homes.

Arman, Hasmik and their three children live in a domik located in one of the desolate areas of Gyumri.  Arman grew up living in this domik after the earthquake.  Now he and his family continue living in these horrible conditions without running water or gas.  Last year, they participated in the housing lottery sponsored by the city of Gyumri, unfortunately they were not lucky enough to win a new home for their family.

Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be destroyed to prevent its future occupancy.

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the City of Gyumri. Many of these families took refuge in the overseas shipping containers (domiks) that were shipped into Armenia loaded with humanitarian relief supplies, or in condemned buildings. An entire generation of children has grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat. The Armenian government has provided most of the families that lost their homes in the Earthquake with new housing units.

As people moved out of those makeshift housing units, others moved in. The 2,500 or so families that remain are Gyumri’s desolate families, who are not in line to receive a government provided apartment. Many of these families are comprised of single mothers, multiple children and/or the disabled.

This project will identify suitable needy families who can be moved into a new apartment and can demonstrate that they can afford their monthly utilities, etc. This is a sustainable model in that families that have been moved into permanent housing in the past have had a high degree of success maintaining their families and their new homes.

In 2014, Mariam, her husband and two children had saved up enough money to purchase their own domik.  They had lived in a neighboring rental domik since the time they were married.  On May 31, 2018, Mariam’s husband took his own life.  Mariam and her children receive governmental support to survive.

Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be destroyed to prevent its future occupancy.

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the City of Gyumri. Many of these families took refuge in the overseas shipping containers (domiks) that were shipped into Armenia loaded with humanitarian relief supplies, or in condemned buildings. An entire generation of children has grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat. The Armenian government has provided most of the families that lost their homes in the Earthquake with new housing units.

As people moved out of those makeshift housing units, others moved in. The 2,500 families that remain are Gyumri’s desolate families, who are not in line to receive a government provided apartment. Many of these families are comprised of single mothers, multiple children and/or the disabled. This is a sustainable model in that families that have been moved into permanent housing in the past have had a high degree of success maintaining their families and their new homes.

The Yeghiazaryan family has been identified and screened as a family to benefit from a new apartment.  Ashot, his wife Ruzan, and their children Arthur and Anna live in terrible conditions.  During the rains, their domik fills with water from the surrounding area.  Ashot works in Gyumri’s central market, hauling purchases for customers.  Anna, suffers from mental illness and her mother cares for her full time. The Yeghiazaryan family is not on any list to receive an apartment as their family did not loose a home in the earthquake.

Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be dismantled to prevent its future occupancy, and the land returned to the city.

Gyumri is Armenia’s second largest city with the poorest population, including single mothers and the elderly. Following the devastating 1988 Spitak Earthquake, in which more than 25,000 people lost their lives and more than 100,000 people were left homeless, Gyumri’s residents did whatever they could to find temporary shelter. This included moving into “domiks,” the overseas shipping containers in which earthquake related humanitarian goods were shipped to Armenia. 30 years following the earthquake, about 2,200 poverty stricken families remain in various forms of temporary housing. In addition to inadequate housing, unemployment and rampant poverty, Gyumri’s people are also faced with extreme winters, with January and February being the coldest months.
The harsh winters and extreme poverty lead to people picking through trash to find something that they can burn to keep warm and cook food for their families. Due to the intense cold weather and toxic fumes, children often get sick and are unable to attend school.

This effort will ensure that 300 families in Gyumri will receive fuel for heating and cooking through firewood for month’s period. Our partner for this project, the Shirak Center NGO, will help distribute the firewood to the families as funds are raised.

Girls of Armenia Leadership Soccer (GOALS) is the only NGO working across Armenia to use sports for social change outside the classroom. Girls who play sports exhibit higher confidence levels, better mental health, improved teamwork and communication skills, increased graduation rates, and leadership skills. GOALS directly impacts more than 2,500 girls and boys in 65 communities.

Meet Tatevik Movsisyan. The first player from a GOALS league to join the Armenian Women’s Under-19 National Team. Tatevik’s passion for soccer began when she was eight years old watching boys play soccer in their village field and dreamt of taking part in it. However, it seemed like an impossible dream for her because of the stereotypes in her village. Then, at the age 11, she was nominated best soccer player in her village during a soccer tournament. Shortly thereafter, she joined the GOALS Achajur team. It was strange at first for the village to accept the idea of a girls’ team. As the league continued, her father even observed her practices and started to recognize her skills, slowly changing his mentality. Since GOALS arrived, there has been a transformation in her village. More girls want to join the team and boys accept and encourage girls to play soccer. Tatevik feels more confident and dedicated. She wants to continue her studies in sports and soccer, with a dream of becoming a referee. Without GOALS, she does not think she would have these opportunities or aspirations.

The Kharpert Home for Special Children is an orphanage located in the village of Nor Kharpert, and serves more than 250 children with varying degrees of developmental disabilities. The orphanage is a state run facility that receives governmental support to provide these vulnerable children with their basic care and education.

Excursions for these children to amusement parks and/or other appropriate venues provide these them with both valuable community experience and needed recreation. Children with disabilities in Armenia are generally kept sheltered from society. These children do not attend school, but rather attend classes at the orphanage. It is important for both these children and society for these children to experience community life.

For each donation of $250, approximately 20 children and an appropriate number of care provides will be able to go on an excursion to Yerevan at Victory Park, or another appropriate venue for a morning or afternoon of activities including transportation, admission and snacks. Please consider supporting multiple excursions for these children.