QSI school visit to Gavar Special School Oct 2007
For the past eight years, Mission East has worked to help the Special School in Gavar, where children with special needs from the large region of Gegharkunik come to go to school, and many of whom to live. Gavar Special School is the only one of its kind in the entire region. Unfortunately, the school only accommodates some 100 students. Surveys however show that there are around 700 special needs children in the entire region – in other words, 600 children are still living at home with their parents or elsewhere, often hidden away from the rest of their communities – a legacy of the Soviet era where having a disabled child was considered a great shame.
Since 1999 Mission East has carried out a number of interventions aiming to improve the lives of the children in Gavar:
• Self-help program with community inputs, painting all the classrooms in the school
• Painting the corridors, classrooms and floors
• Renovating bathrooms, toilets, washing facilities, and the kitchen
• Facilitating the provision of a vehicle for fetching children in far-away villages
• Renovating laundry room and showers
• Assisting in other fundraising activities
• Introducing a new curriculum of teaching special needs children based on their individual abilities and educational needs
And finally, last year, together with students from QSI, we started a service project, encouraging students from QSI to provide assistance to the children at Gavar Special School. After our first trip there in November of last year, the students from QSI made great efforts to collect toys and educational materials for the children in Gavar, and in March of this year, during our second visit, the many donations were handed over to the 92 students at Gavar who were thrilled to receive the gifts, but who were equally thrilled to have found new friends from other parts of the world.
Finally, on October 16th, 21 students from QSI travelled to Gavar in order to hand over sports equipment purchased with funds raised through a bake sale and an ice cream sale at QSI.
Here below, four students from QSI each give their description of this very special day, and at the bottom of this gallery, pictures tell the entire story.
Kim Hartzner, MD,
Managing Director of Mission East
On October 16th all of us from the QSI school in Yerevan were excited to go on yet another trip to Gavar.
When we arrived in Gavar, my father made a couple of speeches and spoke about the work Mission East had carried out in the school since we were there last time.
The director of the school, Lavrik Arevshatyan, also made a speech and told us about the program for the day.
We started by touring the premises, which by now were quite familiar to us. We also saw some of the classrooms that Mission East had renovated and met some of the new children that had come to the school.
Then we were divided into three groups: The girls were to attend either sewing or embroidery classes, and all the boys first went to join the shoe-making class. There were some really, really nice shoes. And then we went to the woodcrafts class, where we tried to make some crosses and also learnt how to use a saw.
Then we were gathered again and went to the dining hall where we ate with all the students from Gavar and were treated to the same lunch that they got.
Then we were divided into two teams, mixing students from Gavar and QSI, and we had a really good game of football, with my team (the orange) winning 5-4.
At last we were called together one more time, because all of us from QSI had gathered money through a bake sale and an ice cream sale, and for the money we had collected we had bought a lot of sports equipment with fine Nike balls and other good things for the Gavar students.
We had had a great day in Gavar and had learnt a lot about the lives of others, and how we ourselves should be better at appreciating what we have.
We said our goodbyes to the Gavar students, and went back to our bus and hoped we would soon be able to go to Gavar again.
Philip Hartzner, 11 year-old class
Trip to Gavar 2007
After the visit to Gavar School during 2006, the second trip was easier. The flowers were still in bloom and the trees still had some of their leaves. The weather was windy when we left and during the ride however, the weather softened and even became warm after the tour!
The tour was started by a couple of speeches, one by Dr. Hartzner and another by the director of Gavar school both translated by an Armenian American. After the speeches were held outside, we were let into a dark hallway which I remember from last year’s trip. All the children seemed amazed. Some of them knew us, and others were just extremely happy about our visit. I don’t think they have seen so many people visit at once for a year. They all knew Dr. Hartzner, though, and were delighted to greet him again. He had changed their lives to something enjoyable, instead of risks and boredom and in some cases, suffering.
We all were led through the building, the director talking to Dr. Hartzner who was walking very fast. I guess we had a lot to see. We were all let into one room. It was enough for 4-5 first grade students. There were two new if I remember right and already the director had memorized the whole class’ names. The director is extremely caring for the children! It was told to the speech and it entered our minds when he calmly strode his hand on the new boy’s head, announcing his name and telling us that he was new. I had to translate a couple of times, as it wasn’t told very loud. But even my translation was interrupted when we were divided into boys and girls. The girls had two groups as they were twice as many girls than boys. We, the boys, followed Dr. Hartzner into the shoe-crafting room, while the girls were led to some other place. In the shoe-crafting room, children had the opportunity to design and create shoes. Max was the first to sit beside a boy. Lucky! He was told to carefully cut a piece of cloth which had been glued onto the leather of the shoe while the photograph took pictures of the event. Alain and I were looking at made shoes. Some of them looked like boots that had been damaged from playing soccer in the snow or something like that. They were missing a rubber bottom part of the shoe. Otherwise the front of the shoe needed to be painted yellow or the leather had to be changed. Then we were called to be seated beside a professional twelve year old shoe maker, or at least that’s what I noticed about him. He was quick and at the same time knew what he was doing. He was gluing the first layer of cloth to the inner side of the shoe to the leather. He passed me the glue and a brush. He said something to me that I didn’t quite catch because of Dr. Hartzner’s explanation of the room. And so Alain who sat beside me translated and I was to use as little glue as possible; it must have been expensive! I glued the all the sides on the leather except one which the by told me not to glue. When I finished, he firmly stomped the piece of glued leather onto a layer of cloth which was in front of me on the table. Now it was Alain’s turn. He was told to cut the cloth carefully as to not cut into the leather. It must also have been expensive; for it was real!
After ten minutes or so of working with the kids on making shoes, the tour went on into a room which I had seen before, but in a worse condition. It was the crafting room where the children made objects, manly crosses, and small stools. I both helped saw five pieces of wood with Gurgen using a two handed, two personed saw, and made a cross from pieces of wood off the ground.
Then it was time to eat, so we hurriedly went down the stairs into the dining room, children already starting to ask if we wanted to play soccer, just like last year. Fanta and a quick put-together of bread, meat and vegetables was served and it was forbidden, Dr. Hartzner said, to sit beside someone you knew. And so I placed myself close to someone whom I met last year. He was 12 and his name was Hovannes. He was very Christian, he said, and loved when we, the QSI school of Yerevan, came to visit. He was very poor and therefore lives and eats at the school because his parents couldn’t supply food.
Finally it was time for the match, and so everybody hurried outside to make their teams. It was all mixed so that it would be fair, but it never was in my opinion. And so after the match, everybody was called together and the supplies, all different sorts of balls, were given out and some speeches were made. I had to translate a lot because there were some students going around collecting all our names. There was one very nice kid who asked if we were going. I sadly answered “yes” or “ha” in Armenian. Then we slowly went into the bus, shaking hands with the soccer players, either enemy or allay, and went into the bus. We all shouted bye in Armenian and the bus started to move. Another trip to Gavar was ending; we were all quiet for a moment, whishing that we could go again tomorrow.
Sebastian Pedersen, 13 year-old class
16-10-07
Gavar School
Today was our trip to Gavar Special School which is a very nice school for children with special needs. Children that have been treated unfairly and left on the streets by their parents or relatives also live there. Since the last time I visited Gavar School, I noticed progress. Now, the building looks cleaner and many of the rooms have now been renovated.
As we approached the building, many of the students were standing in the entrance waiting for us to visit their school. They all looked very happy. I was myself delighted to see the smiles on their faces. Next, we went on a tour around the school. Most the classrooms appeared to be the same, but the playroom and one of the bedrooms had been renovated and looked as pretty and neat as a new pin. The renovated rooms both had light pink walls, which looked very attractive, and there were also new beds in the bedrooms. The playrooms even had a new T.V, and music system. Gavar Special School had changed a lot. We were then separated in two groups to attend some of the classes. My group went to the sewing class. It was very fun to sew on pictures. At first, I didn’t quite understand how to sew, and I was horrible at it. But, after a while, I began to get better at it, and could sew properly. The students there were very kind and helped us when we needed their aid.
Next, we had lunch with the Gavar students. Although all of us had brought our own lunches, we ate what the school gave us, and not our lunches. After that, we went to play soccer with the Gavar students, but the teams were mixed, so it wasn’t QSI against Gavar School. Even though I did not play, I could notice that the Gavar students were excellent at the game. They even had professional soccer shirts, so we knew that they were really into the game. Just before leaving, we gave the school brand- new sports equipment that we had earned money for by the “Bake Sale” and the “Ice- cream sale”. They were all delighted. Lastly, we all said our “byes” to the students of Gavar and set off towards our school.
Our trip to Gavar Special School was a very successful one. I had a lot of fun to get to know the students more thoroughly, since they were all very kind and generous. And, since I enjoyed this trip so much, I wish that we could visit the wonderful school again.
Kirti Pujari, 12 year-old class
October 19, 2007
When we went to Gavar Special School
On Tuesday October, 16 we went to Gavar Special School. This school helps orphans, children with disabilities, and children with learning problems. Mission East is the organization that is helping the school get everything it needs.
As a QSIY school representative I am delighted to see the school take so much process and endeavor to make it a better place. When we first arrived there last year, it was incredulous. The weather was freezing and there were no heating systems. The kids had 3 playrooms that were being renovated, but they didn’t have toys. The rooms were VERY dirty and dusty; the children had to sleep in army cots that didn’t keep them warm in the winter. We all felt very unhappy for the kids, so we decided to make a change.
First we decided on collecting as many toys as possible, the whole school helped by bringing their old toys (they had to be in good shape). When we first got them there the kids were SO happy that they started getting us and taking us to see their school and rooms. Then we thought of doing a bake sale to gain as much money as possible. We got a lot of money, about 60,000 drams. After that we did an ice cream sale that was a really BIG hit. Mr. Gillis’ class girls did a LOT of posters regarding this ice cream sale. The 6 representatives met at lunch time to talk about, and organize this sale. With that we got a lot of money, and with the help of Tomas ( my brother) who found a 50 dram coin in the floor and gave it to the fund raiser, we could buy a lot of sport equipment for the kids.
We were in the bus thinking of what the kids were doing at that time. When we arrived the kids were very anxious to see us .They came and shook our hands and even stare at us with their big brown eyes. We all got inside. Arevshat, the principal whose last name means a lot of sun, showed us how the school has changed a lot. There was a room that last time was being fixed, that when we came this time it was all done and painted, and the kids were already sleeping on it. The Principal Arevshat told us that the kids that would stay to sleep would fight to sleep in this warm cozy room. In the room I even saw some of the toys I gave, that told me that these kids really take care of their toys and personal objects. Then Mr. Harzner broke us into three groups sewing, that was the one I was in, knitting, and woodwork. Since there were no seats left I had to sit next to two girls, they told me what their names were, Lucine and Marine, I don’t quite remember the names correctly, but I do remember how they looked. Lucine asked me where I was from and when I told her I was from Argentina she gasped, surprisingly thought. Then when went to have lunch. All the kids were so exited to sit next to us that in our table one of them nearly spilled their fanta cup! I was sitting next to a boy who, I guess, was sad or angry. So I tried to cheer him up asking him if he wanted some sandwich or some fanta, but he said “che”, no in Armenian. Lucine, who was sitting next to Kyle, asked me once more where I came from, I told her again, she scuttled to catch up with another little girl and told her were I came from.
After a while when all of us had finished eating, we went to play soccer. The kids at Gavar School are GREAT at soccer. There was a boy about my age, or more, that kicked the soccer ball while in the air. The orange team won, but we didn’t get mad or anything because we didn’t want to get the kids sad. When we finished the soccer game, we went to catch up with Mr. and Mrs. Gillis. We were going home. So now it was time to give the sports equipment to Aravshat, the principal, Margaret ( Maggie) Ryan said a little speech about how we gained the money and why we gained it. When we gave the sports equipment to the principal and P.E teacher, the kids were jumping up and down, they were REALLY exited. The kids were rummaging around the bags.
We said good bye, and then I thought “will we ever see them again?”
~Mercedes Alvarez, 12 year-old class
Read MoreSince 1999 Mission East has carried out a number of interventions aiming to improve the lives of the children in Gavar:
• Self-help program with community inputs, painting all the classrooms in the school
• Painting the corridors, classrooms and floors
• Renovating bathrooms, toilets, washing facilities, and the kitchen
• Facilitating the provision of a vehicle for fetching children in far-away villages
• Renovating laundry room and showers
• Assisting in other fundraising activities
• Introducing a new curriculum of teaching special needs children based on their individual abilities and educational needs
And finally, last year, together with students from QSI, we started a service project, encouraging students from QSI to provide assistance to the children at Gavar Special School. After our first trip there in November of last year, the students from QSI made great efforts to collect toys and educational materials for the children in Gavar, and in March of this year, during our second visit, the many donations were handed over to the 92 students at Gavar who were thrilled to receive the gifts, but who were equally thrilled to have found new friends from other parts of the world.
Finally, on October 16th, 21 students from QSI travelled to Gavar in order to hand over sports equipment purchased with funds raised through a bake sale and an ice cream sale at QSI.
Here below, four students from QSI each give their description of this very special day, and at the bottom of this gallery, pictures tell the entire story.
Kim Hartzner, MD,
Managing Director of Mission East
On October 16th all of us from the QSI school in Yerevan were excited to go on yet another trip to Gavar.
When we arrived in Gavar, my father made a couple of speeches and spoke about the work Mission East had carried out in the school since we were there last time.
The director of the school, Lavrik Arevshatyan, also made a speech and told us about the program for the day.
We started by touring the premises, which by now were quite familiar to us. We also saw some of the classrooms that Mission East had renovated and met some of the new children that had come to the school.
Then we were divided into three groups: The girls were to attend either sewing or embroidery classes, and all the boys first went to join the shoe-making class. There were some really, really nice shoes. And then we went to the woodcrafts class, where we tried to make some crosses and also learnt how to use a saw.
Then we were gathered again and went to the dining hall where we ate with all the students from Gavar and were treated to the same lunch that they got.
Then we were divided into two teams, mixing students from Gavar and QSI, and we had a really good game of football, with my team (the orange) winning 5-4.
At last we were called together one more time, because all of us from QSI had gathered money through a bake sale and an ice cream sale, and for the money we had collected we had bought a lot of sports equipment with fine Nike balls and other good things for the Gavar students.
We had had a great day in Gavar and had learnt a lot about the lives of others, and how we ourselves should be better at appreciating what we have.
We said our goodbyes to the Gavar students, and went back to our bus and hoped we would soon be able to go to Gavar again.
Philip Hartzner, 11 year-old class
Trip to Gavar 2007
After the visit to Gavar School during 2006, the second trip was easier. The flowers were still in bloom and the trees still had some of their leaves. The weather was windy when we left and during the ride however, the weather softened and even became warm after the tour!
The tour was started by a couple of speeches, one by Dr. Hartzner and another by the director of Gavar school both translated by an Armenian American. After the speeches were held outside, we were let into a dark hallway which I remember from last year’s trip. All the children seemed amazed. Some of them knew us, and others were just extremely happy about our visit. I don’t think they have seen so many people visit at once for a year. They all knew Dr. Hartzner, though, and were delighted to greet him again. He had changed their lives to something enjoyable, instead of risks and boredom and in some cases, suffering.
We all were led through the building, the director talking to Dr. Hartzner who was walking very fast. I guess we had a lot to see. We were all let into one room. It was enough for 4-5 first grade students. There were two new if I remember right and already the director had memorized the whole class’ names. The director is extremely caring for the children! It was told to the speech and it entered our minds when he calmly strode his hand on the new boy’s head, announcing his name and telling us that he was new. I had to translate a couple of times, as it wasn’t told very loud. But even my translation was interrupted when we were divided into boys and girls. The girls had two groups as they were twice as many girls than boys. We, the boys, followed Dr. Hartzner into the shoe-crafting room, while the girls were led to some other place. In the shoe-crafting room, children had the opportunity to design and create shoes. Max was the first to sit beside a boy. Lucky! He was told to carefully cut a piece of cloth which had been glued onto the leather of the shoe while the photograph took pictures of the event. Alain and I were looking at made shoes. Some of them looked like boots that had been damaged from playing soccer in the snow or something like that. They were missing a rubber bottom part of the shoe. Otherwise the front of the shoe needed to be painted yellow or the leather had to be changed. Then we were called to be seated beside a professional twelve year old shoe maker, or at least that’s what I noticed about him. He was quick and at the same time knew what he was doing. He was gluing the first layer of cloth to the inner side of the shoe to the leather. He passed me the glue and a brush. He said something to me that I didn’t quite catch because of Dr. Hartzner’s explanation of the room. And so Alain who sat beside me translated and I was to use as little glue as possible; it must have been expensive! I glued the all the sides on the leather except one which the by told me not to glue. When I finished, he firmly stomped the piece of glued leather onto a layer of cloth which was in front of me on the table. Now it was Alain’s turn. He was told to cut the cloth carefully as to not cut into the leather. It must also have been expensive; for it was real!
After ten minutes or so of working with the kids on making shoes, the tour went on into a room which I had seen before, but in a worse condition. It was the crafting room where the children made objects, manly crosses, and small stools. I both helped saw five pieces of wood with Gurgen using a two handed, two personed saw, and made a cross from pieces of wood off the ground.
Then it was time to eat, so we hurriedly went down the stairs into the dining room, children already starting to ask if we wanted to play soccer, just like last year. Fanta and a quick put-together of bread, meat and vegetables was served and it was forbidden, Dr. Hartzner said, to sit beside someone you knew. And so I placed myself close to someone whom I met last year. He was 12 and his name was Hovannes. He was very Christian, he said, and loved when we, the QSI school of Yerevan, came to visit. He was very poor and therefore lives and eats at the school because his parents couldn’t supply food.
Finally it was time for the match, and so everybody hurried outside to make their teams. It was all mixed so that it would be fair, but it never was in my opinion. And so after the match, everybody was called together and the supplies, all different sorts of balls, were given out and some speeches were made. I had to translate a lot because there were some students going around collecting all our names. There was one very nice kid who asked if we were going. I sadly answered “yes” or “ha” in Armenian. Then we slowly went into the bus, shaking hands with the soccer players, either enemy or allay, and went into the bus. We all shouted bye in Armenian and the bus started to move. Another trip to Gavar was ending; we were all quiet for a moment, whishing that we could go again tomorrow.
Sebastian Pedersen, 13 year-old class
16-10-07
Gavar School
Today was our trip to Gavar Special School which is a very nice school for children with special needs. Children that have been treated unfairly and left on the streets by their parents or relatives also live there. Since the last time I visited Gavar School, I noticed progress. Now, the building looks cleaner and many of the rooms have now been renovated.
As we approached the building, many of the students were standing in the entrance waiting for us to visit their school. They all looked very happy. I was myself delighted to see the smiles on their faces. Next, we went on a tour around the school. Most the classrooms appeared to be the same, but the playroom and one of the bedrooms had been renovated and looked as pretty and neat as a new pin. The renovated rooms both had light pink walls, which looked very attractive, and there were also new beds in the bedrooms. The playrooms even had a new T.V, and music system. Gavar Special School had changed a lot. We were then separated in two groups to attend some of the classes. My group went to the sewing class. It was very fun to sew on pictures. At first, I didn’t quite understand how to sew, and I was horrible at it. But, after a while, I began to get better at it, and could sew properly. The students there were very kind and helped us when we needed their aid.
Next, we had lunch with the Gavar students. Although all of us had brought our own lunches, we ate what the school gave us, and not our lunches. After that, we went to play soccer with the Gavar students, but the teams were mixed, so it wasn’t QSI against Gavar School. Even though I did not play, I could notice that the Gavar students were excellent at the game. They even had professional soccer shirts, so we knew that they were really into the game. Just before leaving, we gave the school brand- new sports equipment that we had earned money for by the “Bake Sale” and the “Ice- cream sale”. They were all delighted. Lastly, we all said our “byes” to the students of Gavar and set off towards our school.
Our trip to Gavar Special School was a very successful one. I had a lot of fun to get to know the students more thoroughly, since they were all very kind and generous. And, since I enjoyed this trip so much, I wish that we could visit the wonderful school again.
Kirti Pujari, 12 year-old class
October 19, 2007
When we went to Gavar Special School
On Tuesday October, 16 we went to Gavar Special School. This school helps orphans, children with disabilities, and children with learning problems. Mission East is the organization that is helping the school get everything it needs.
As a QSIY school representative I am delighted to see the school take so much process and endeavor to make it a better place. When we first arrived there last year, it was incredulous. The weather was freezing and there were no heating systems. The kids had 3 playrooms that were being renovated, but they didn’t have toys. The rooms were VERY dirty and dusty; the children had to sleep in army cots that didn’t keep them warm in the winter. We all felt very unhappy for the kids, so we decided to make a change.
First we decided on collecting as many toys as possible, the whole school helped by bringing their old toys (they had to be in good shape). When we first got them there the kids were SO happy that they started getting us and taking us to see their school and rooms. Then we thought of doing a bake sale to gain as much money as possible. We got a lot of money, about 60,000 drams. After that we did an ice cream sale that was a really BIG hit. Mr. Gillis’ class girls did a LOT of posters regarding this ice cream sale. The 6 representatives met at lunch time to talk about, and organize this sale. With that we got a lot of money, and with the help of Tomas ( my brother) who found a 50 dram coin in the floor and gave it to the fund raiser, we could buy a lot of sport equipment for the kids.
We were in the bus thinking of what the kids were doing at that time. When we arrived the kids were very anxious to see us .They came and shook our hands and even stare at us with their big brown eyes. We all got inside. Arevshat, the principal whose last name means a lot of sun, showed us how the school has changed a lot. There was a room that last time was being fixed, that when we came this time it was all done and painted, and the kids were already sleeping on it. The Principal Arevshat told us that the kids that would stay to sleep would fight to sleep in this warm cozy room. In the room I even saw some of the toys I gave, that told me that these kids really take care of their toys and personal objects. Then Mr. Harzner broke us into three groups sewing, that was the one I was in, knitting, and woodwork. Since there were no seats left I had to sit next to two girls, they told me what their names were, Lucine and Marine, I don’t quite remember the names correctly, but I do remember how they looked. Lucine asked me where I was from and when I told her I was from Argentina she gasped, surprisingly thought. Then when went to have lunch. All the kids were so exited to sit next to us that in our table one of them nearly spilled their fanta cup! I was sitting next to a boy who, I guess, was sad or angry. So I tried to cheer him up asking him if he wanted some sandwich or some fanta, but he said “che”, no in Armenian. Lucine, who was sitting next to Kyle, asked me once more where I came from, I told her again, she scuttled to catch up with another little girl and told her were I came from.
After a while when all of us had finished eating, we went to play soccer. The kids at Gavar School are GREAT at soccer. There was a boy about my age, or more, that kicked the soccer ball while in the air. The orange team won, but we didn’t get mad or anything because we didn’t want to get the kids sad. When we finished the soccer game, we went to catch up with Mr. and Mrs. Gillis. We were going home. So now it was time to give the sports equipment to Aravshat, the principal, Margaret ( Maggie) Ryan said a little speech about how we gained the money and why we gained it. When we gave the sports equipment to the principal and P.E teacher, the kids were jumping up and down, they were REALLY exited. The kids were rummaging around the bags.
We said good bye, and then I thought “will we ever see them again?”
~Mercedes Alvarez, 12 year-old class
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