QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

Summer 2015, Issue 20

Bread for the World-Protestant Development Service, former EED, is one of our long-term partners since 2000. Our partnership will continue in the coming years through a new program entitled Social Development Program in Vayots Dzor Region, South Armenia. Within the new program, local people will be given opportunities to improve their living conditions, which will in turn help them see their development perspectives in their local communities.

Bread for the World Continues Supporting DevelopmentProgram in Vayots Dzor, South Armenia, 2015-2018

The primary beneficiaries of the program will be school children, students, youth, young adults, members of vulnerable communities, especially women, in need of local health consultancy and services, rural community members and young professionals that can be mobilized for local social development. Our gratitude is extended to Bread for the World for its continuous support which helps Syunik NGO to improve living conditions of people living in our beneficiary communities and bringing positive changes to their lives.

Promoting Early Childhood, Inclusive andSpecial Needs Education

Recently Syunik NGO received approval from the German Embassy in Armenia for a proposal to promote early childhood, inclusive and special needs education with Clever Baby Center in Yeghegnadzor. Prior to the approval, representatives from the Embassy visited Yeghegnadzor to see conditions of the Center. The project aims at providing appropriate outdoor environment to the Clever Baby Center in Yeghegnadzor that will give children an opportunity to enhance their learning and grow in a stimulating and

supportive environment. Sixty-five children (ages 1-6, five of which have special needs) currently attending the center will benefit from the project. All will have access to stimulating educational materials and will be provided with the essential early education foundation that will allow them to grow and flourish when they go to school. Syunik NGO and Clever Baby Center extend their gratitude to the German Embassy in Armenia whose continuous support helps make a difference in the lives of many children in Vayots Dzor region.

Dream Found Center Opens in Yeghegnadzor In 2015 Dream Found Center launched its operations in Yeghegnadzor offering courses and therapies to children, adults and pregnant women in the region. Courses offered in the Center include life skills, psychology, language courses, ethic rules, and speech

skills, and therapies offered include ART therapy, sand therapy, and tale therapy. The Dream Found Center is open five days a week. The Center was established within our Social Development Program financed by Bread for the World-Protestant Development Service.

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It’s been more since a decade that Syunik NGO has been involved in peace building initiatives. One of these recent initiatives is the Youth for Peace project. Youth for Peace project is a new phase of Syunik NGO’s long-standing Summer Peace Camp project financed by HEKS-EPER, Switzerland. This new phase started from January 2015 and will continue up to December 2017. The project will continue building a sustainable peace in the South Caucasus region. Like Summer Peace Camp project, Youth for Peace also has two camps annually, one in Armenia and one in Georgia. Participants of the camp are teenagers ages 16-18 from Armenia, Georgia, Abkhazia (including ethnic minorities living in these countries). A number of activities have been implemented so far including training of camp leaders, one camp in Akhaldaba, Brojomi Region, Georgia, and one camp in Hermon, Vayots Dzor Region, Armenia. Camp leaders were trained on conflict management, diversity, stereotypes and other topics before the camp started.

Youth for Peace ProjectTotal of 120 teenagers from program countries took part in both camps. As usual, participants in the Armenian camp received a free dental care which was provided by the Armenian Dentist Association in California, one of our long-term partners. Both camp participants and leaders had memorable time in the camps and expressed their gratitude to organizers and supporters of the camp. Below are some quotes from camp participants.“Before the camp I didn’t know much about Armenia and Armenian people but now I can say that I know much more about Armenia and Armenians. The peace camp project gave us chance to get to know each other tradition and culture as well as to make new friendships” - Georgian participant.

“When I remember camp days I always smile because those days were full of interesting and funny memories. We used to have Georgian Language classes during our camp time where we learned different Georgian expressions and poems as well as many Georgian dances”- Armenian participant.

Hakuna Matata Summer School in Vayk In July a summer school entitled Hakuna Matata was organized in Vayk community. The 10-day school was initiated and run by an initiative group formed at Syunik NGO's Vayk Community Center and had 80 participants. The summer school aimed to develop linguistic, ecological, creative and educational skills among camp participants, as well as to help them organize their leisure time. During their time in summer school participants learned how to be consolidated through games, listen to each other, and be a full member of the team. They also took English, Italian, environmental and geography lessons, and learned how to keep the environment clean.

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Public Event Dedicated to International Children’s Day

June 1st was a special day for children living in Yeghegnadzor and surrounding rural communities. As it was International Children’s Day, Syunik NGO’s Peace Camp team organized a public event entitled I am a Little Seed for Peace within the scope of Youth for Peace in South Caucasus Project. The event was organized in the amphitheater of Yeghegnadzor city which created a lively colorful atmosphere for the children and people attending. The event hosted Silvia Frei, HEKS-EPER Caucasus Programme Officer and representatives from HEKS-EPER Regional Office of South Caucasus. During the event songs and dances were presented by Syunik NGO’s community center students, as well as by a rock group called Meet Me in the Sky. Hundreds of people in the local and surrounding communities attended and enjoyed the event.

Traditional Song and Dance Event in Jermuk

An event entitled Following the National Steps dedicated to Armenian national traditional songs, dances and games was organized by our Jermuk Community Center’s (CC) students in collaboration with the school of Kechut village, Vayots Dzor region. The event was attended by many people in both communities, as well as by Syunik NGO staff, and staff members of local entities of Jermuk city. In the beginning of the event, children performed their songs and dances as well as beautifully presented traditional Armenian duduk music. Then they presented the most interesting part of the event, where children played traditional games with the guests. Afterwards students of Jermuk CC were invited to organize the same performance in Ararat Mother and Child Sanatorium, in Jermuk and at one of the military units in Vayots Dzor, where Jermuk Initiative Group members received an official sign of appreciation for representing and valuing national values.

Food Art Club in Vayk Recently, a new Food Art Club was launched in Vayk CC within the frame of the Social Development Program in Vayots Dzor (sponsored by Bread for the World). Participants of the club are 10 women and young girls living in Vayk city and surrounding rural communities.

Within the Food Art Club, participants will develop and enhance their skills and knowledge in cooking and food art (e.g., designing cakes, food for parties, etc.) which will later on become beneficial as they start looking for jobs at local restaurants and cafes.

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The Architect Club Alumni Enroll in Higher Education

Education is not the quantity of knowledge, but the full understanding and skillful practice of what you know. That is the main motivation for our Architect’s Club for Youth in Yeghegnadzor, which has been operating since 2013. The club is designed for talented teenagers aged 14-17 who are interested in architecture. Through various interactive educational courses the club develops passion and devotion towards architecture among participants and prepares them for future studies in postsecondary settings. Recently, five of our alumni successfully passed state admission exams and entered higher educational institutions to further enhance their knowledge in architecture. We congratulate our future architects of our country and wish them all the best in their educational and career endeavors.

Field Visit for Rural Farmers

Recently, within our Rural Development Program, and in collaboration with Shen NGO, we organized a field visit for 35 farmers and 5 horticulturists from Gegharkunik region who visited our demonstration plot and orchard located in Vayots Dzor and learned about new innovation technologies of cultivation of the hybrid orchards. At the end of the visit farmers were given new spraying machines which they can use in their gardens to enhance the effectiveness of their tree treatment process. During their visit farmers also had a chance to meet with senior staff members of a newly opened local food canning company and discuss opportunities for future collaboration. An agreement was reached whereby farmers will collaborate with the company during the harvesting season and sell their products to the company.

Monitoring visit by HEKS-EPER

In spring of 2015, Syunik NGO hosted representatives from HEKS-EPER South Caucasus office. The guests were Ramaz Giogobiani, HEKS-EPER South Caucasus agricultural advisor and Vakho Mshvidobadze, HEKS-EPER South Caucasus Programme Officer. The main focus of the visit was to have an internal review of Syunik NGO’s Rural Development projects. Within the monitoring visit the guests met with key staff of Syunik NGO Rural Development Project. Monitoring visit also included meetings with lead farmers and marketing groups, as well as storage facility owners. During the monitoring visit the guests learned about the work implemented within the agricultural project marketing component. The monitoring visit also included field visits during which the guests met with beneficiary farmer consultants from Aghavnadzor, Rind, Areni, Arpa and Getap communities and learned about thier jobs.

Monitoring Visit by Bread for the World

From June 11th to 13th, 2015, Syunik NGO hosted Dorothea Wolf, Project Officer, Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia Unit, Brot für die Welt. The aim of the visit was to monitor Syunik NGO’s Social Development Program in Vayots Dzor region. Within the monitoring visit Ms. Wolf learned more about the work of our rural and urban local community centers in Yeghegnadzor, Vayk, Jermuk and Chiva. She had an opportunity to meet with the beneficiaries and initiative groups of our community centers and discuss current and future activities of the centers.

Office of International & Public AffairsSyunik Development NGOMomiki St.5, 3601 YeghegnadzorVayots Dzor Province, Armenia

Tel/Fax:+374(281) 20409Email: oipa.syunikngo@yahoo.comEmail: gevor.syunikngo@yahoo.comwww.syunikngo.weebly.com

Syunik NGO PR Manager: Gevorg MatevosyanEditor-in-Chief: Nara Martirosyan, Sam Houston State University

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Syunik’s Staff Members Take Part in Local, National, and International Trainings

Gohar Harutyunyan attended the 5th Euro-Arab Youth Forum in Strasbourg, France, September 2-5, 2015. The forum, which hosted 36 participants from European countries and 36 participants from League of Arab Countries, aimed to foster mutual cooperation and dialogue among young Arab and European leaders.

Arus Nersisiyan, Gevorg Matevosyan and Hasmik Galstyan participated in a training course entitled Fighting Youth Unemployment and Social Exclusion held in Bratislava, Slovakia, August 27-Spetember 1, 2015. The training course was designed for youth workers from BiH, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia, and aimed to create a platform for participants to exchange their best practices and experiences for future projects and partnership.

From 29th of July to 4th of August, Tatev Harutyunyan and Naira Harutyunyan, as well as five students from Syunik's community centers participated in an exchange project entitled An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away in Puumalaand Kangasniemi, Finland. During the exchange participants had an opportunity to meet with students and youth activists from European countries and learn more about European culture.

Aspram Aleksanyan and Anahit Yeghiazaryan took part in an international training course entitled Going International held in Bratislava, Slovakia, June 27 - July 3. The training course was designed for 25 participants from Armenia, Georgia, Albania, Azerbaijan and Turkey and aimed to strengthen international aspects of youth work and stimulate cooperation between international partners.

From April 20-25, Naira Harutyunyan participated in a training entitled Youthful Europe which was held in Kiev, Ukraine. The training aimed to develop active citizenship skills and address European dimension in young people’s daily life.

From 16th -21st of March, Arus Nersisyan participated in a training course called Young Women’s Peace Academy which aimed at increasing young women's leadership, advocacy and conflict resolution skills. Afterwards, participants took part in a study trip and more advanced international training which was held in Turkey from 22-26 of September.

From March 28th to April 1st Naira Harutyunian, Arus Nersisian and Hasmik Galstyan participated in a three-day training on Survey Methodologies which was implemented by HEKS-EPER Office of the South Caucasus in Georgia. The training course covered topics such as survey goals, planning and budgeting, identification of target audience and data collection sources.

Syunik NGO’s Handbook Available Now

Recently we published a handbook which provides detailed information about Syunik's history and accomplishments over the last twenty years. Hard copies of the handbook are available at our headquarters office. Those who are interested in electronic version of our handbook, can contact us at syunikngo@yahoo.com.