Remote Armenian Community Claims its Right for Preschool Facility
The remote community of Arevatsag in north Armenia’s Alaverdi region will finally have the kindergarten it has lacked for nearly 18 years after winning a grant from the well-known donor organization – Jinishian Memorial Foundation, and securing funding for its staff.
Some 20 children will soon attend the pre-school education facility to be constructed within the facilities of the Arevatsag Secondary School.
“Our village has not had a kindergarten since 1991, and sometimes it has been hard to explain to my children what a kindergarten is and what it looks like”, said Artur Meliksetyan, who actively participated in the proposal writing process. When World Vision’s Alaverdi Area Development Programme (ADP) started in 2008, it soon became evident at community gatherings that establishing a kindergarten was a key priority in Arevatsag village.
World Vision Armenia mobilised the community by facilitating dialogue between different stakeholders and encouraging each of the representative groups – village mayor, teachers, students, and parents - to give their feedback on the problems the community faced and share their part of the responsibility in resolving them.