SOS Children in Armenia
A landlocked republic with Turkey to the west, Azerbaijan to the east and south-west and Georgia to the north, Armenia has seen great changes since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. Once dubbed the Soviet's 'silicon valley', Armenia's economy collapsed when its old markets disappeared. Poverty is widespread and annual inflation is high. Families with children under five years old comprise almost 60 per cent of the poor.
Following the devastating earthquake in Armenia in 1988, the charity constructed an SOS Children's community for orphaned children in the town of Kotajk, just outside the area that had been destroyed and about 10 miles from the capital Yerevan. The first children were able to move into their new homes together with their SOS mothers in 1990. As there were no pre-school facilities in the area, a provisional SOS nursery was set up in one of the family houses in 1992. This was replaced by a purpose-built nursery in 1995. The same year, an SOS youth centre was set up in Yerevan for the young people who had grown up in the village. Here they start to become independent, but receive any advice or support they may need from the youth advisor until they feel ready live on their own, whatever age this may be. The village has twelve family houses, the walls of which have been decorated with colourful paintings by the children.
Three SOS Family Strengthening Programmes (FSPs) run in Armenia, and these offer support to vulnerable families in the community, to prevent child abandonment. This is done by: 1) ensuring that children have access to essential services (e.g. educational, nutritional, health support, leisure time activities) for their healthy development; and 2) supporting families to build their capacity to protect and care for their children (e.g. income generation, parental skills classes)
Armenia’s second children’s village is being built in Idjevan, in the country’s north-east. Construction began in December 2007: there will be 14 family homes for 91 children. The village will open in 2009.
At present we support over 1,850 people in Armenia through one SOS Children’s Village, one SOS Youth Home, one SOS Nursery School, and three SOS Family Strengthening Programmes.
To find out more information about the work we do in Armenia see our page on Armenian Orphans.
Little Adrine spent her first few years growing up in an Armenian orphanage: she had heard of the SOS Children’s Village in Kotajk and had met a lot of the children who lived there: "All children from the children’s village knew a lot of things about nature and music and science. They were polite to adults and said 'good afternoon' and 'good bye' and 'please' and 'thank you'. The adults were also very nice to the children. No one yelled or hit a child. When I was told I was going to live at the village, it was the happiest moment in my life!"
Local Contacts
SOS Children in Armenia
SOS Children's Village Armenian Charity Foundation
5a Tpagrichneri str. apt. 3
375010 Yerevan / Armenia
tel +374 10 52 09 96
fax +374 10 52 09 96
e-mail soscvarmenia@sos-kd.am
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