By Florence Avakian
YEREVAN and BOCA RATON, Fla. — “I love doing everything with soil and gardening, and I cannot wait to graduate and go back to my village to work in the orchards,” says Aramayis.
“I dream of becoming a singer or a dancer,” says Lilit who hails from Artik, a small town in Shirak marz.
And Armen who weaves carpets, desires to become a professional artist and do portraits.
The Paraker School for Children with Disabilities has been the highlight for these children (ages 17 to 20) who are among more than 250 youngsters in this safe and loving haven. These three young people along with two others who have different levels of retardation are scheduled to graduate in June, 2020.
For them, and the approximately 200 others who live at the FAR Parakar Special School for Children with Disabilities, the prospect of leaving this safe and loving haven causes “their eyes to turn sad,” said Margarit Piliposyan, vice director of the Yerevan Office of the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), in a telephone conversation from Yerevan.