France’s Armenian Youth Organization Rebuilds Schools in Armenia

In July 2021, 15 volunteers came to renovate the kindergarten of Shenavan, a small village in Lori Province. During twenty days, they discovered and helped this village “which hasn’t had parties or played music since the Artsakh war,” according to its inhabitants. Moreover, the village is still affected by the damage left by the earthquake of December 1988. Shenavan’s wrecked kindergarten has never been repaired. One of the most important targets for AYO was to make life easier for the village’s families: “About twenty children under six years old weren’t able to attend kindergarten. It was a real problem because it caused them to fall behind in their education. Their mothers were also affected because they needed to stay at home to take care of them,” Mathilde explains. That’s why AYO chose to go there, on the advice of the Armenian association “Shen.” Shen aims to find places to renovate in Armenia thanks to volunteers who live in the country and know the land and its needs well.

A Day with the Volunteers

During the trip, volunteers stayed in a host family’s house next to the school. They spend the entire day together. It starts early, at 8 a.m., with an Armenian breakfast, lavash bread and apricot jam. Once at the kindergarten, they are divided into two teams: one group takes care of the children, with sports and lively games, while the other is in charge of the construction work. Every other day, they alternate their jobs to do different tasks. No need to be a building expert – the volunteers were led by Amo, the site manager. “He taught us how to coat the wall with primer and to be efficient. He was really nice and even-tempered with us,” Mathilde says. Then, they have lunch together at 12 p.m. with the children and teachers. Several activities are offered to the children, like soccer, dance, painting, or card games. For the most motivated, French lessons are also organized every afternoon.

They keep working until 6 p.m. before spending the evening together. During the trip, the volunteers are used to dining with different Shenavan families. They invite them, each in turn, to thank the French group for their commitment: “It was great fun to discover new people and new customs every night. That’s how I learnt my first word of Armenian, genats [toast], along with the subtlety of doing a proper genats,” Mathilde exclaims, laughing.

July 2022: Back to Shenavan

But the mission in Shenavan isn’t finished yet. This year, 15 volunteers from AYO are going back, this time to renovate the dojo (an Asian-style gymnasium), the dance studio of the school, changing or locker rooms and the sanitary facilities, which are not up to standards. Volunteers will also provide preventative advice for dental and dietary health. This year, a special “dental bus” will be coming to the village, with toothbrushes and dental materials as gifts for children.