“It is so good here. Everyone is joyful, everyone is nice and I love them a lot.”
Ms. Avdalyan is fully engaged her son’s life, and even works as a cook at the center. “It is difficult to choose the main menu,” she says. “Children have different dietary needs. There are children with chewing disabilities, children with autism who don’t like everything. We take into account the children’s wish.” Ovsanna Torosyan jokes that her son enjoys the meals in the center more than the ones cooked at home. “This center is a bright light for us,” Ms. Torosyan says. “Now, we have become a big family, we are close to each other. We have the same problems, which makes interaction easier. The warmth of Aregak has brought all of us together,” she says, grinning. However, the children’s futures remain unclear. Armenia has begun efforts to connect those with special needs to the labor market, but there remains much work to do. “Growing up, children have no place to go,” explains Tamara Vanoyan, “but we have done so much and can’t let them forget that. We try as much as possible to give them skills so that they can use those in the future.” There is need for similar centers in other towns of the region. According to official data, in Shirak alone there are more than 19,544 registered persons with some sort of disability, including 753 children.
Many either cannot go to school, or are educated at home. This is one reason why the center in Gyumri is such a bright light — even sharing its message of hope through outreach. “We celebrate all holidays together,” Edward Torosyan says. “We hold auctions before holidays, make and sell handmade items and help poor families,” he says. “We have nice days together. One of the kids here even went to Germany. They invited us, but I said I wouldn’t leave my church or Gyumri. I love my country, my home, my ‘Aregak.’ ” Gayane Abrahamyan’s reporting has appeared in The Atlantic, EurasiaNet and ArmeniaNow.
TO READ MORE ON CARING FOR THE DISABLED IN ARMENIA, CHECK OUT GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN’S POST ON OUR BLOG, ONE-TO-ONE:
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