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Full Description

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To date, the center has already had several important successes. At least six children have been taken out of boarding schools, attend our center and now live back at home with their families. Many of the children who were receiving poor grades in school are now achieving top scores. The children have become socially well adjusted and much more healthier than before with the continued consumption of multi-vitamins and a daily well-balanced meal. Staff trainings have begun with an academic counsel of professionals from the United States and Armenia to ensure that the children are receiving the best care, treatment and methods for their development.

The center is working on funding year four and raising additional funds in order to develop and add to the programs and classes offered with the ability to hire more educators, and get more supplies, and equipment. Funds will also be used to supplement daily activities, hold forums for guest speakers and provide educational and career planning opportunities. $70,000 is needed to cover operating costs for the Center. In January of 2017, Debi Arach successfully launched its first program within its Vocational Training Center, teaching children computer programming, 3d printing and robotics curriculum. The goal of this newest component is to provide these children with marketable job skills in order to help them work themselves out of poverty.

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Need

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Thousands of children in Gyumri are living in extreme poverty, with no hope for a decent future. These socially vulnerable children are in need of a safe and enriching environment where they can receive additional guidance through social, psychological and academic support giving them a chance to break their cycle of poverty. The children's center will continue to provide these children with the opportunity to attend after school and summer school programs providing them with the additional skills necessary for a successful future.

Additionally, these children suffer from malnutrition and related illnesses due to a lack of well-balanced meals. The center will continue to provide each child with a nutritious meal everyday, helping them receive the calories and/or nutrients they need.

Furthermore, many families were forced to take refuge in overseas shipping containers (domiks), or in condemned buildings after the devastating 1988 Spitak Earthquake or due to their poor socioeconomic status. An entire generation of children has grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat to take showers. The Center will address this very important hygienic need by continuing to provide the children in attendance with supervised new bathing facilities.​

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