School No. 17 for children with musculoskeletal disorders

• School no. 17 in Yerevan is the only special needs school in Armenia specialising in the care of children with musculoskeletal disorders. The school is a massive Soviet structure located at the top of a road with very bad pavement (almost impossible to get to for someone going in a wheelchair!). It was part of the 008 education project and from 2003-2005 under joint supervision by Mission East and local partner Bridge of Hope, since September of last year only by Bridge of Hope: In essence, the teaching methodologies are now superb, and the results are shown in the lives of the children. But – apart from a few rooms in the building that have undergone renovation – most of the building is in such a deplorable state that only parts of it are accessible, with parts of the building now closed off, as it is simply too dangerous to be there! Even in the current access areas, rain is literally coming down through holes in the roof, with pools of water in different places. In the winter time, it is literally freezing in the corridors! School no. 17 is run by this fantastic lady, Amalia Arutyunyan, who has worked there for 23 years, and is completely dedicated to the 80 children at the school. Watching her showing us around the building, avoiding the pools of water on the ground, and opening rooms where children and their parents now apply the Mission East -introduced teaching methodologies, is an experience one will not easily forget: before, the parents were more hesitant to send their children to the school. Now, despite the horrible physical conditions, the parents are even more eager to send their children there, seeing that indeed they get teaching, and that indeed they can get a future. After finishing school, some children now have jobs such as cooks or even educators in the school! Many of the children have difficulties sitting still, as they used to do in the past. But with the introduction of the new flexible curriculum, the teaching of the children is adapted to the needs of every individual child!