Sewing workshop brings hope of education

Admin
Friday, May 9, 2008
Levon lives in Gyumri, the second largest city in Armenia, located some 126 km from the capital Yerevan. Gyumri was devastated by the 1988 earthquake and has since made a slow and painful recovery. The high rate of unemployment and other consequences of the earthquake have resulted in large-scale emigration, which has threatened to cripple the city.

Yet the Karapetyan family refused to give up after the earthquake – they stayed in Gyumri and have relentlessly struggled for a better life and a secure future for their children.

Levon’s father Mkrtich, 36, is a locksmith. He used to work at the office of the local gas supply company, but his contract was terminated when the company was forced to cut jobs.

Levon’s mother Anna, 34, has not had employment outside of the home where she has cared for her three children. Parents Mkrtich and Anna, together with grandparents and three children, live on social benefits and the small salary of the grandmother who works at a pharmacy.

When Mkrtich lost his job, the family encountered financial hardship and it proved difficult to provide for three school-age children.

...the parents were afraid they would not be able to cover the expenses related to the education of all three children... Desperate about the lack of resources and the gloomy future, the parents were afraid they would not be able to cover the expenses related to the education of all three children for the next school year.

Since Levon has poor health and had undergone surgery on his stomach, he needed more care and he would be the one most affected by the hardships. There was a real possibility that he would not go to school the coming year.

“I was familiar with the activities of World Vision as I used to take Levon to the Mush Child Centre opened by World Vision, when he had speech problems. The specialists there helped him overcome his fears and speech impediment”, says Levon’s mother Anna.

“It was there I learnt that World Vision had given sewing machines to the Centre and I joined the group of women who attended the sewing classes”.

The Child Protection Community-Based Centre Mush 2 was opened in March 2005 by World Vision Armenia’s Gyumri Area Development Programme (ADP) for children in especially difficult circumstances.

In January 2008, the Centre received seven sewing machines through World Vision’s US Gift Catalog. A group of women whose children attend the Child Centre began work at the sewing workshop.

“I have loved sewing since childhood. Now I have a chance to do my favourite work on new and modern machines, producing high quality products. The machines have different functions, such as overlock and embroidery. We sew table clothes, linen, towels, shirts, etc. We have arrangements with local shops to sell our products. At present our operations are on a small-scale, but in the near future we are planning to enlarge our production”, explains Anna.

“Besides our main sewing tasks, we also do repair work. People in the community have heard of our group, and bring clothes and linen for mending”.

The group is still in the process of establishing the production and sales operations. The women are thinking of ways to improve their output, raising the efficiency and enlarging their market.

To ensure that the workshop is successful in the future, a large amount of effort still needs to be put into the project.

With this workshop I regained my belief in the future. “With this workshop I regained my belief in the future. Even if the income is low, I know I will be able to support my family financially very soon, and I am grateful to World Vision for this opportunity”, says Anna.

Now that Anna is working as a seamstress and earning a small income for her family, the family no longer has to fear that Levon will be unable to attend school.

Children’s education is a priority in Anna’s family. Even the slightest increase in the family’s income will be used to provide the children with stationery and clothes so that they can go to school, without the normal worries and difficulties.

“I want my children to receive an education, to study well and become good professionals”, she says.

The Child Protection Centre is located in the same building as Levon’s school. In the afternoon Levon runs into the workshop and hugs his mother. After a long day in classes he is still active and energetic, impatient to tell her what new things he has learnt and the grades he has received.

“I love my school, my teachers and classmates. My favourite subjects are Mathematics and Armenian. When I grow up, I want to become a doctor to cure ill children”, says Levon with an uncharacteristically serious face.