No school and no education for Berdkunq children
Sona Hakobyan, 7, lives in Berdkunq Village in Armenia’s Gavar Region. She’s always smiling and spends most of her time running in and out of her family’s “house” – often making a mess in the process.Out in the yard she plays on an old springy bed or with the dust that is a constant companion and nuisance for the family.
This little girl should have gone to school one year ago, but she did not, because there is no school in Berdkunq Village.
“My daughter does not know what school is. She has already missed one year of her studies”, says Sona’s 26-year-old mother, Anna Najaryan.
My daughter does not know what school is There are only 40 school-age children in the whole village and only four children for the elementary school. “The village administration cannot afford the expenses of a school for only four children in the elementary school. But these children are left uneducated”, says Anna.
Those villagers who have cars are able to take their children to the school in neighbouring Ayrivanq Village. Others either need to let their children walk nearly three kilometres to Ayrivanq School, or just get used to the idea that their children will never learn to read and write.
“I can’t let a 6-7-year-old girl walk three kilometres across the fields, where wolves and dogs wander and where the snow reaches 1.5 metres in winter”, says Anna.
The Hakobyan family lives in a small shack, consisting of just two 5-square-metre rooms and one 1-square-metre “kitchen”.
“This is the only house we can afford. The walls of the shack are made of tin, so it is bitterly cold in winter and boiling in summer”, says father Gharib Hakobyan, 30.
I want my children to eat and dress properly, to go to school and not feel ashamed of being from a poor family No one in this family has secure employment and Gharib is happy whenever villagers offer him an odd job. “I want my children to eat and dress properly, to go to school and not feel ashamed of being from a poor family,” says Gharib, his hands severely scorched as a result of the hard work under the direct sun.
“I do not want to go to school, if I go to school I will not have time to play”, says Sona with the innocence and cheekiness of a 7-year-old. But she is quick to add, “but if I go to school I will have lots of friends and then we can play together. That will really be great”.
Sometimes Anna thinks that it is good her daughter does not go to school, because it would have been difficult for her and her husband to buy all the stationery and proper clothing. Instead she teaches Sona at home.
“She knows some of the letters and can write numbers neatly, but she does need to go to a real school”, says Anna hinting at the frustration she feels with the family’s limited choices.
Melanya Petrossyan, 7, is among the luckier children in the same village because thanks to neighbours with a car and a spare seat, she has been able to attend the first grade at the neighbouring Ayrivanq School.
“School is great”, says Melanya. “I have already learnt the letters and the numbers”.
“It is very important that children go to school. It is not good that there are children in our village that cannot go”, says Melanya, who wants her friends to enjoy school as much as her.
“Thanks to one of our neighbours, Melanya goes to school, but this September her younger brother Ishxan also has to go to school, and he will likely miss it because there is no place in that car”, says Melanya’s mother Anush Sahakyan, 27.
Though Melanya is fortunate enough to go to school, her family can barely afford proper school supplies and clothing for her.
Her large family heavily depends on the disability pension of grandparents, Ishxan Petrosyan, 55 and Tadevossyan Melanya, 55. As there is no place to work in the village, the children’s father Davit Petrossyan, 31 and mother Anush cultivate their small yard near the house, which provides daily food for the family.
Berdkunq Village is part of the World Vision Armenia Gavar Area Development Programme (ADP). The children of the impoverished families of the village have now been made part of World Vision’s Child Sponsorship Programme, among them Sona and Melanya.
Gavar ADP is planning to help the villagers by renting a bus to take the children to the Ayrivanq School. “Now we are discussing with the village administration all the options of solving this major problem”, says Vardan Aghajanyan, Gavar ADP Manager.
Meanwhile, Gavar ADP has provided the school-age children with stationary and warm clothing.
This little girl should have gone to school one year ago, but she did not, because there is no school in Berdkunq Village.
“My daughter does not know what school is. She has already missed one year of her studies”, says Sona’s 26-year-old mother, Anna Najaryan.
My daughter does not know what school is There are only 40 school-age children in the whole village and only four children for the elementary school. “The village administration cannot afford the expenses of a school for only four children in the elementary school. But these children are left uneducated”, says Anna.
Those villagers who have cars are able to take their children to the school in neighbouring Ayrivanq Village. Others either need to let their children walk nearly three kilometres to Ayrivanq School, or just get used to the idea that their children will never learn to read and write.
“I can’t let a 6-7-year-old girl walk three kilometres across the fields, where wolves and dogs wander and where the snow reaches 1.5 metres in winter”, says Anna.
The Hakobyan family lives in a small shack, consisting of just two 5-square-metre rooms and one 1-square-metre “kitchen”.
“This is the only house we can afford. The walls of the shack are made of tin, so it is bitterly cold in winter and boiling in summer”, says father Gharib Hakobyan, 30.
I want my children to eat and dress properly, to go to school and not feel ashamed of being from a poor family No one in this family has secure employment and Gharib is happy whenever villagers offer him an odd job. “I want my children to eat and dress properly, to go to school and not feel ashamed of being from a poor family,” says Gharib, his hands severely scorched as a result of the hard work under the direct sun.
“I do not want to go to school, if I go to school I will not have time to play”, says Sona with the innocence and cheekiness of a 7-year-old. But she is quick to add, “but if I go to school I will have lots of friends and then we can play together. That will really be great”.
Sometimes Anna thinks that it is good her daughter does not go to school, because it would have been difficult for her and her husband to buy all the stationery and proper clothing. Instead she teaches Sona at home.
“She knows some of the letters and can write numbers neatly, but she does need to go to a real school”, says Anna hinting at the frustration she feels with the family’s limited choices.
Melanya Petrossyan, 7, is among the luckier children in the same village because thanks to neighbours with a car and a spare seat, she has been able to attend the first grade at the neighbouring Ayrivanq School.
“School is great”, says Melanya. “I have already learnt the letters and the numbers”.
“It is very important that children go to school. It is not good that there are children in our village that cannot go”, says Melanya, who wants her friends to enjoy school as much as her.
“Thanks to one of our neighbours, Melanya goes to school, but this September her younger brother Ishxan also has to go to school, and he will likely miss it because there is no place in that car”, says Melanya’s mother Anush Sahakyan, 27.
Though Melanya is fortunate enough to go to school, her family can barely afford proper school supplies and clothing for her.
Her large family heavily depends on the disability pension of grandparents, Ishxan Petrosyan, 55 and Tadevossyan Melanya, 55. As there is no place to work in the village, the children’s father Davit Petrossyan, 31 and mother Anush cultivate their small yard near the house, which provides daily food for the family.
Berdkunq Village is part of the World Vision Armenia Gavar Area Development Programme (ADP). The children of the impoverished families of the village have now been made part of World Vision’s Child Sponsorship Programme, among them Sona and Melanya.
Gavar ADP is planning to help the villagers by renting a bus to take the children to the Ayrivanq School. “Now we are discussing with the village administration all the options of solving this major problem”, says Vardan Aghajanyan, Gavar ADP Manager.
Meanwhile, Gavar ADP has provided the school-age children with stationary and warm clothing.
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