This is my third time in Armenia and its beauty never ceases to impress me. I have never been here at this time of year and its lush green landscapes, high mountains and bright blue skies provide a stunning backdrop to our three and a half hour journey to Sisian. I am really excited about seeing my sponsored children Aram and Nareh. I have met them before, but I’m keen to meet their families again and see the difference in their lives since I was last here.
I’m going to be in Armenia for a few more days, so please do ask me questions if there is anything you want to know about what life is like for children here. You can post them below or on World Vision UK’s Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/worldvisionuk
Aram telling me how he cares for his sheep
Aram, a very proud sheep owner
I was thrilled to see Aram again and it was good to see that he had grown so much since last time. Aram lives in Sisian with his father, step mother, and younger half-brother.
World Vision had provided his family with 4 sheep and Aram was revelling in the responsibility of being a sheep owner. World Vision has also provided him with some support to help teach him how to look after his sheep. Aram was very keen to explain to us that he was in charge of the sheep and his father was merely the assistant!
These sheep were a way for Aram’s family to raise income and meant they would have enough money to keep Aram in school, it would also provide other basics like food and clothing. Four lambs could provide about $800 per year to Aram’s family. A typical family income is $1,200 per year, so this is a significant increase for the family.
Meeting Nareh again
Nareh and her Wonderful Grandmother
Next we visited Nareh and were greeted very jovially by her wonderful grandmother, a strong woman who is the real driver behind Nareh’s family. We had swapped quite a lot of information through our letter writing so we had lots to talk about! Nareh showed me a photo of us that we took last time I visited and I showed her photos of my wife and my dog Elvis, so she could see a bit of my life in Scotland. Nareh told me how she would start High School in September, however, because Sisian was quite far away from her village she would have to stay there during the week.
Nareh’s family has also been given two bullocks, as part of the economic development project I am supporting. These are going to be fattened up and then sold to market in the winter to get a better price for them. This is expected to generate $750 which will then be used to buy at least two more new calves and leave some profit to pay for the basics in life; food, clothes, heating etc. Nareh looks after the calves at the moment and seems to enjoy doing that.
Aram wearing his new winter hat and jacket and looking very pleased with his lego set
Gifts and Sad Farewells
It was a real joy to be able to give Aram and Nareh some winter clothes to keep them warm when the temperature drops later in the year. Armenia has extreme temperatures from November to April, sometimes reaching -30 degrees. For children who do not have adequate clothing, this is obviously pretty chilly! So Aram now has a waterproof coat, a hat and some gloves to keep him warm while he tends the sheep. I also gave him some Lego which I thought he and his father would enjoy. I gave Nareh some warm clothes too, and a jewellery making kit. In return her Grandmother gave me a very large pot of honey – though I don’t know how I’ll get that back to the UK!
Saying goodbye is always the hardest part of these visits and I did get a little choked up saying goodbye to Aram and Nareh. But being able to sponsor them and make life better for them is important to me. I had a good childhood and I think every child has a right to this. I have seen a lot of children living in poverty around the world and it has made me want to do something about it. It is a joy for me to see how these children progress each year – I am not trying to replace their family but just trying to help them from a distance. I love being able to see the difference my small bit of support can make and also see the difference other sponsors like you are making.
Tomorrow, I’d like to tell you about two special projects that I am supporting to help children in the local area. In the meantime though, please post any questions you have about life for children in Armenia below or on the World Vision Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/worldvisionuk
John Schneider is a World Vision supporter who has travelled to Armenia to visit his two sponsored children. He has visited Armenia twice before and also supports several income generating projects. These projects are aimed at helping families and communities to better look after vulnerable children in Armenia.
We sponsor a 9 year old boy in Armenia. If we wanted to send him a gift what do you think the best things would be? Would it be better to send him warm clothes for the winter?
Hi Lynn. Warm clothes are always appreciated and a good gift. Another and probably better way however is to simply send the money to World Vision UK Supporter Care and ask them to purchase the appropriate gift for your child. WV staff in your child’s area are familiar with the child’s needs and you are sure buy the right gift. Thank you for your support and if you ever get a chance to visit it is a wonderful experience! They
love to receive letters too. John
Hi John! Thanks so much for writing about your visit to Sisian. I live in Scotland too, and my sponsored child in Armenia is a little girl in the Alaverdi ADP in the north. Her annual progress report just arrived today, a booklet which is absolutely beautiful, a work of art in itself – very many thanks to WV Armenia!
Last year I saw a shocking news report about a mother who had to go out there in the winter and search for wild roots to cook for her children, because they had nothing else to eat. She’d never been able to buy them any new shoes either. I decided to sponsor in Armenia straight away. What I’d like to ask is: how do families generally manage for food, day by day – and what about clothes? Are food and clothes available there in the shops but too expensive, or are they just not readily available at all – especially in the countryside – unless people can grow or make their own?
It’s marvellous that your own sponsored families will have extra income from raising livestock, though, and great to read about our sponsored children flourishing so well.
Blessings and kind regards to you and everyone in Armenia.
Clare Johnson
Hi Clare. I cannot speak for Alaverdi but if it is like Sisian then food and clothes are available and relatively inexpensive. Relative is the key word here! The problem will be low family income if any at all so your sponsorship is making a financial impact for the child. All of my economic development projects are directed towards enabling the families and children to make it on their own by growing everything from cucumbers to rabbits to making
sellable crafts. This provides them with a sustainable income in future years. They can do a lot with relatively small amounts of financial help. World Vision is involved in many support functions and one of them is training families in agricultural products and how to run their business. If you ever get the chance to visit your child you will see what I mean. Thanks for helping. John
Hi John, I have a question, having read with interest about schooling there, I wondered why it costs money to send kids to school, is it not public school system? Myra.
Myra,
Good question. It is a public school but I believe parents are required to pay some nominal amount. To be sure I am going to defer this question to WV to provide further information to you on this subject. John
Hi Myra,
Thank you for taking such an interest in Armenia and the schooling system there. In response to your question, primary and secondary schooling in Armenia is public and there should not be any fees for children to attend.
However, there are costs associated with travelling to school and buying books and school supplies. Additionally, once some children reach secondary school, they may need to travel much further to get to school and sometimes even stay nearer to the school during the week, as was the case for John’s sponsored child Nareh. The cost of this travel and accommodation during the week are usually borne by the family, which can be significant and beyond the reach of some families living in more rural areas.
Kindergartens are not public however, and fees do apply. This is why the projects that John discusses in his other blog are so important. They allow families who could not otherwise afford to send their children to kindergarten to do so. Kindergarten attendance can be wonderful for children’s early development and really set them up for learning at primary school.
Colleges and further education services, just like here, do charge fees, which puts further education out of reach for many Armenians.
(Sorry for the delay in replying I just wanted to make sure I had my facts right.)
Hi,
My sponsored child, Atom, appears to be football mad, do these children have access to English football or only local games? We know he knows about Euro 2012, is this because it is more local to Armenia this year?
We were also wondering about church and religion; is this an important part of life or less so as is the case with many families in the UK.
Thanks, Susan
Susan,
Not sure where Atom lives but since football is a worldwide popular sport I would believe that it is available all over Armenia and therefore it would not surprise me if Atom has access to viewing it. My sponsored children live near Sisian and there are many satellite dishes in that area.
Armenia was the very first country to adopt Christianity as its national religion around 300AD and therefore, historically and currently, it plays an important role in the lives of many Armenians. Having said that I really could not comment on how devout Armenians may or may not be because that has not normally been discussed during my visits.
John
wow thats really great!! really osam thx for sharing informative post here
Hi there, I have been sponsoring 2 children for many years in Armenia. I am increasingly aware that they are reaching the age of which I will have to stop sponsoring them and I would very much like to visit before they grow up. I looked at some flights and they appear to be £1,500 plus and around 23H each way! Would World Vision be able to help me with suitably priced flights etc if I do decide this is what I want to do? Many thanks, Victoria
Hi Victoria,
Thank you so much for your amazing support for so many years! We just love it when sponsors can visit their sponsored children. I just had a quick chat to Key Travel, who often help us with our travel arrangements, and they said they could get a flight to Armenia for £522 which takes 6 hours 45 mins. The flight is with Air France – but it doesn’t go everyday.
If you would like to chat this through more you can get in touch with our Sponsor Visits specialist Reka Gencsi. Her number is 01908 244442 or you can email her at reka.gencsi@worldvision.org.uk
Thank you.