OUR STORY
The tragic 1988 Spitak Earthquake claimed the lives of 25,000 people and left more than 100,000 residents homeless, and plagued with unemployment and rampant poverty for years to come. In turn, the fate of children in Gyumri has also been affected. Dealing with the difficulty of finding means to feed and care for their families, many parents are unable to provide their children with the proper guidance, supervision and the financial resources for them to excel in school and have a successful future.
The Paros Foundation launched the Debi Arach Children’s Center in 2015 providing more than 180 children every week the necessary academic, psychological, vocational, social and humanitarian support offering these children an opportunity for a bright future by breaking the cycle of poverty for this community. All services are free of charge.
Our facility currently has three classrooms, a computer lab, an art studio, five bathrooms, two showers, a kitchen, a technology lab and salon as part of our vocational training programs, and an outdoor play field to facilitate in reaching our goal of positively impacting the lives of hundreds of socially vulnerable children.
The center is continuing to accept new children that live in the Gyumri community. We now are serving 180 children. In the future we hope that the center will not only continue to grow in size but also continue to offer more programs and support options for the children who attend the center.