Molokan child, Fioletovo, Lori Region, Republic of Armenia Onnik Krikorian

Educating Minority Children

FIOLETOVO, Lori Region It's not often that you encounter a village that makes you feel like an outsider in Armenia but this is one of the few that do, and in every sense of the word. It's not that the residents of this ethnically homogenous village made up of Russian Molokans don't like visitors. It's simply that their presence is not considered essential for Fioletovo to survive and prosper.

The Molokans are Russians that split from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th Century. Fioletovo, a village inhabited by less than 1,500 people, is the largest community outside of Yerevan. Their total population in Armenia stands at just 5,000 although 14 years earlier, when independence was declared, there were approximately 12,000 Molokans living in the republic. Since then, most have left. [ read article ]

No Small Matter: Pre-School Education vital for Early Childhood Development

VANADZOR, Armenia -- It might seem a little early for Heghine Suvarian to make use of the parental resource center established at her local kindergarten but that is precisely what the expectant mother is doing. Although she won't give birth until November, by browsing through reference material in a room furnished, equipped and supplied by UNICEF she is already thinking ahead.

Opposite sits Keghetzig Kocharian, a mother of two. Her eldest child didn't attend kindergarten but her six year old daughter, Sona, is now in her final pre-school year. "I can see the difference," she says. "Because my son never attended kindergarten he wasn't prepared for school. Even his hand wasn't prepared [for writing]. It was difficult for him at first." [ read article ]

Suffer the Children

According to Its Director, the majority of children enrolled into the boarding school situated somewhere in the Armenian capital stay on full-board. Yet, after its annual New Year Party, only two remained while the remainder returned home for the holidays.

In both cases, the children had seemingly been forgotten only because their parents were late to collect them. Moreover, out of 130 children attending a special school designated for children with learning difficulties, the majority instead showed no sign of any disability at all [ read article ].

Invisible People

A hundred meters from the municipal landfill that sends plumes of smoke produced by smoldering rubbish into the cold morning air, seven-year old Armine Hakobyan should be preparing for her first year at school. However, lacking a birth certificate and other necessary papers, her day will be like any other. Instead of receiving an education she will wash discarded bottles collected from the local rubbish tip to sell for 10 drams each [read article].

New service reaches out to children at risk

As Vahe's grandfather sits in the small, dimly lit and claustrophobic room that was once apparently a garage, he insists on donning the medal-encrusted jacket that is testimony to his participation in WWII before any photographs can be taken [read article].

Learning Skills for Living

A teenager is infected with HIV during a contaminated blood transfusion yet, despite contracting the virus that causes AIDS through no fault of his own, is ostracized by his friends, classmates and teachers. [read article].

The Final Cut

At the age of just fourteen, Gor Baghdasarian -won the first-ever One-Minute Video Junior Award organized by UNICEF's Young People's Media Network, the Sandberg Institute and the European Cultural Foundation [read article].

Bridge of Hope

According to official statistics, there are over 8,000 children with disabilities living in the Republic of Armenia [read article].