Medical Centres in Armenia

SOS Social Centres Family Strengthening Programmes (FSP) in Armenia

Armenia marked another year of socio-economic development and there is much to do in the social field. Unfortunately, the number of socially unprotected, abandoned or children at social risk isn’t still decreasing. SOS Children is constantly doing taking steps in this area and helping more and more children in the scope of various new projects and programmes. Family Strengthening and Prevention of Child Abandonment programme is a vivid example, and is spreading its firm branches and demonstrating its effective and fruitful continuation in more districts of Yerevan and in more parts of Armenia. We help the children in need to stay in their biological family and focus our work on strengthening the families. The programme brings to life its aims and goals in different fields - both financially and psychologically. We work both with children and their parents and in the result there are a lot of families, who have re-organised and who have started consider how to struggle for having full and normal family.

The FSP projects, as one of the important directions of SOS Children's work in general, is already widening its branches already in Idjevan, where the programme started to be implemented since April 2008.  Families in need get both psychological and materials assistance; children systematically attend hobby groups; parents participate in various trainings and active psychological work is done both with children and parents.

By the end of this reporting period in Yerevan, Gyumry and Idjevan the number of children benefitting has increased and now reaches 245 children from 117 families in Yerevan; 278 children - in Gyumry and another 100 children from 75 families in Idjevan.

The FSP projects have been implemented since 2006. The project was first implemented in Gyumri as a town considerably damaged by the earthquake and suffered from psychological and social-economic upheavals, and in partnershpi with two local NGOs, the project has shown new success stories.. At the beginning of 2007 the FSP project began in Kanaker-Zeytun, a district of Yerevan, and in Idjevan the project implementation has been in process since April 2008. On the first cycle of implementation of all the three projects, there was some mistrust from the part of local authorities and other local bodies, as well as the community members in general. This year proved to be of high significance for the FSP programmes in Yerevan, as the Municipality's response to our activity was tremendous - they granted us with a place in the Municipality house, which is in the district where the programme is carried out.

It is very favourable for us because it significantly makes the work of staff easier, as they are now much closer with the beneficiaries and their houses. However, after a while, thanks to the active actions of the project staff, organisation of meetings, participation in the Child’s Rights Protection Network reached the advanced level of partnership with the local governmental and non-governmental structures. Currently, the participation of the partners in carrying out the FS projects is multi-functional/multi-level (assistance in the process of identifiying beneficiaries, providing of premises, providing assistance in various project services). In April, the FSP team of Yerevan was assigned an important task to facilitate the process of National Child Rights Situation Analysis. It was carried out smoothly and the staff returned to his routine works.  

Based on the objectives set up during the Family development plans, SOS Children has signed agreements with the families and provided multi-professional assistance, be it related to social, psychological, legal, health or education issues. Many interesting, useful and educational excursions have been carried out for the children, and in general much is done for the families in need to make them feel safe and unified. The food package provision has become an important tool towards the development of the targeted families.

Psychological assessment and rehabilitation of the children, organisation of clubs, after- school activities and excursions, providing of textbooks and stationary, sending children to the medical centres for health check-ups and providing of drugs, improving living conditions, provision of food, hygienic packages and clothes - these are the practical activities carried out for children. Assistance to adult beneficiaries and parents of the target families were given through; social-legal consultation; organisation of parental skills trainings; organisation of job training and visits job centres; psychological assessment and rehabilitation; sending to the medical examination and provision of drugs.

Numerous beneficiary parents have been included in various courses including English, computer skills and cooking. Following our help since January, two of them have luckily managed to find jobs. Many juridical consultations have been provided to the families in need.

In 2009, the three projects will continue. The identifying beneficiaries process is planned and the general number of the children is planned to reach 800 while the adult caregivers is to reach 250. In 2009, the geography of the project in Idjevan will be enlarged and all of the Tavush region will be involved in the project, the administrative centre of which is the town of Idjevan. As a new component of the projects ‘Confidence in Future’ three–year programme will happen as a result of the SOS Children partnership with HSBC. Within the framework of the projects, during three years, some 232 project beneficiaries will receive specialised education, receiving an opportunity to find employment in their corresponding profession in the future, and therefore provide with the permanent family income.

The importance of the implementation of the projects was seen when evaluating the impact of it on beneficiaries. It is worth stating that a number of families supported by the projects had managed to become self-reliant, particularly when finding employment and in receiving state pensions and benefits. There were numerous cases where intra-familial relations improved and as well as a reduction in psychological problems. Naturally the project was effective in improving the children's education and created good conditions for studying at school.

Suzanna Badeyan, - National Family Strengthening Programme manager 

Quality Development Programme for Public Schools of Armenia

This year, the initiative for SOS Children Armenia was to support the development of public schools near the SOS Children's Village Kotayk at the villages of Nor Gyugh and Kotayk and was marked by the opening ceremony of a training and resource centre in the Kotayk school. There is great motivation from the teachers and the leadership of the school which was a very encouraging factor for the success of our programme in the longer term. New child centered methodologies have been well practiced by the trained teachers. 

The second success was in the Ministry of Education and Science during 2008. The Ministry has expressed its readiness to start a partnership with SOS Children Armenia in education programmes.  Their interest and readiness to study our support and if needed to contribute to our work was obvious.  The educational year started in September in newly refurbished cabinets and classrooms. It is in this period that VIVACELL, one of the dominant cell phone operators in Armenia, together with the volunteers from Armenian Diaspora representing the NGO 'Birthright Armenia' did some renovation work. As a result 7 classrooms were painted and the windows renovated as contribution to our programme. 

Thanks to the project SOS Children helped the schools to apply for a subscription of methodological literature and didactic materials. With the support of partners, the schools have acquired a certain option of advanced methodological literature and didactic materials. The children’s motivation of school attendance has been greatly increased.

At the same time of training in child-centered methods were undertaken, as a more democratic way and form of teaching, the school management and the educational staff was trained on techniques of practicing participatory discussions. Yerevan School 78 committed to develop a long-term experience sharing programme with the targeted schools. The exchange of experiences mostly promoted to catalyzing the process of practicing advanced child-centered methods and in proper, transparent and easily traceable documentation and filing of all the educational and decision making processes. The innovation for those schools was the start of the practice of open lessons which also became another catalyzer of participatory processes.

SOS Children helped the schools to apply for the subscription of methodological literature and didactic materials. In the result of this initiative and the support of the other partners, the schools have acquired a certain option of advanced methodological literature and didactic materials. In addition to all the above mentioned assistance and contribution, some material donations have also been made directly for the children: methodical room with required didactic materials equipment like a PC, TV set, DVD/Video player, CDs and DVDs and literature has been established together and which we greatly hope will have important role for fulfilling our mission. 

The other direction of support was the effective continuation and practice of psychological services. This approach allowed for practical group meetings and individual counselling with the children, the teachers and the parents. The parental involvement was greatly enhanced and was well accepted by the active community of parents eager to make difference in the working style and daily lives of the schools.

All the above elements of the SOS Children Armenia programme really made changes in the lives of the schools, particularly in the attitude of the teachers and the leadership increasing their motivation level. This change could not remain unseen by the other organisations and individuals; the schools were donated by desks and shelves, the toilette of the children's village of KOTAYK School was fully renovated. Moreover, the Schools with its resources managed by computers and establish a computer class and also replaced the entrance door. SOS Children Armenia then supported the renovation of the classrooms for the first grade of the elementary classes and also provided with the required furniture items and desks. 

Report from Azniv Mirzoyan, Programme leader