Supplies for Armenian Kindergarteners
All kids of the kindergarten received TOMS shoes of their size.
IRD Armenia Country Director Ruzanna Stepanyan was invited to attend the opening ceremony of a reconstruction project implemented in a village kindergarten by another US Department of State-funded organization. The village of Sis, in Ararat marz, hosts refugees from Azerbaijan. It is a poor village, suffering from lack of roads and infrastructure, including housing. Guests toured in the renovated kindergarten and watched a concert performed by 25 pupils ages 2–6. Stepanyan was touched by words of Araksya Galustova, the school principal, who said “We tried hard to get this kindergarten reopened after years. We still have so many gaps to fill. Our children sleep on old mattresses with linens and pillows that have been in use for 20 years.” Ruzanna directed the IRD field office response, sending medical supplies, clothes, linens, and TOMS shoes to the children.
When medical supplies arrived in Armenia, a generous portion of the donation was sent to the kindergarten, which received bed linens, pillows, and hand towels.
The sheets were rather large for the small children’s beds, so the creative kindergarten staff tailored them and made smaller sheets and pillow cases, while the remaining larger sheets are used as summer quilts.
Galustova, the school principal, said “We are so thankful to IRD and the American people for lending us a helping hand and allowing our children attend a kindergarten and stay in decent conditions.”
Filed Under: Emergency Response, Youth, Europe, Armenia