By Anahit Kosakyan
BERDZOR, Artsakh — A delegation of members of the Tekeyan Cultural Association of the United States and Canada led by Arto Manoukian was received by the entire student and teacher body of the Vahan Tekeyan School No. 1 of Berdzor on September 30.
This school, which has a history of many years, always eagerly awaits the visit of its guests and this year was no exception. Here in this educational institution, every person is a soldier in battle, dedicated to his work. Each one contains a spark from the soul of Vardan Mamikonian, and a burning ember from brave Monte Melkonian. There is a portion of the craziness and heroic strength of our heroes in them, and the wisdom of their unbreakable will too.
The students greeted the guests with the traditional salt and bread, and exclaimed, “Dear guests, welcome to this cozy corner of the land of Artsakh. May your entry be providential for our educational institution. May your God-pleasing work only bring happiness and joy to all. Let us support one another, scatter the seeds of laughter, smiles and goodness everywhere, and in exchange receive words of gratitude and thanks, good wishes and blessings, each of us in our work, each of us in our place.”
Ninth grade student Nare Avanesyan led the guests around the school. They saw the renovated classrooms and were present at the ceremonial inauguration of the two most recently renovated ones, named after Ashot Bekor and Alek Manoukian. The Tekeyan Cultural Association visitors held conversations with students of different classrooms, and exchanged gifts with the teaching staff.
Through the moving speech of teacher Sirvard Tamazyan, the staff expressed its gratitude for the philanthropy and especially for the Sponsor A Teacher program participants who for years on end continued to support the teachers and staff of the schools bearing the Tekeyan name in Armenia and Artsakh.
