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Working Out of One Room: Manvel Gasparyan's Mission is to Help
Armenia's Special Needs Children
Sona Avagyan
hetq
15:48, April 14, 2012
There are 317 registered children with disabilities in the Shengavit
district of Yerevan.
54 attend the Youth Creative Center's Emmanuel Children with Special Needs NGO.
The NGO's founding director, Manvel Gasparyan, says there are more
kids needing their services than they can accommodate.
`Right now, we only can accept a new child when a spot opens up,'
Gasparyan says.
Gasparyan is a physiotherapist by profession and has worked for many
years in Russia and Ukraine. He returned to Armenia ten years ago and
saw a need for his services.
Children with a host of various maladies and those that are
mentally-challenged attend the Emmanuel NGO. The gamut runs from kids
with autism to those who have suffered child brain seizures. Some
attend regular schools and others, special schools.
There are twelve professional doctors and therapists that work with
the children on a voluntary basis. The NGO runs a number of therapy
groups - painting, modelling, design, etc.
The NGO also offers free psychological counselling to the parents.
The NGO occupies one room at the Shengavit Youth Creative Center at no
charge. One of Manvel's friends has also temporarily allocated another
room for the counselling sessions.
`We had been petitioning the Shengavit District Administration for a
site since 2007. They finally sent us here. Before, I would offer my
services by going to the homes of these children. We hope to get the
entire floor so that we can expand our operation,' said Gasparyan.
Nareh Aramyan, who heads the Youth Creative Center, told Hetq that the
building doesn't belong to them and that he can't allocate the first
floor to Gasparyan.
`It belongs to the municipality and they have to approve such a plan,'
said Aramyan.
Gasparyan and Aramyan have written letters to various local and
municipal officials regarding a new larger space.
This past February, Gasparyan received a response from the Yerevan
Municipality's Real Estate Administrative Division stating that the
NGO needs a minimum space of 1,000 square meters to operate
effectively, but that the Creative Center's building is not equipped
to allocate such a space.
Mr. Arsen Amyan, from the Real Estate Division, responded that the
building already accommodates a host of extra-curricular educational
and cultural programs. He says that a social services program like
that offered by the Emmanuel NGO would not be expedient.
Nareh Aramyan also agrees with this conclusion, and thinks that a
health and rehabilitative NGO would be best located in another medical
facility.
Gasparyan says that if his NGO were to be allocated the entire first
floor, his friends and international agencies would assist in its
renovation.
Operating out of the one room it now has, the NGO can accept kids from
one to three days per week.
Armen's Mom: "It's been an uphill struggle since the age of two"
Armen, an 11 year-old who attends, is mentally challenged and has
memory issues. He's been coming to the NGO once a week for the past
six months and attends the design class. It assists in improving
creative and mobility functions.
Armineh Galstyan, the boy's mother, says that Armen gets a moral boost
by attending classes.
`He's started to build things at home from paper and glue. Before,
he'd just sit around doing nothing. Now, he wants to work, to hold
things and create. This is a big and significant change for me.'
Armineh has been focusing her attention on her son's physical and
mental problems since they surfaced at the age of two.
`It's been a constant struggle for us all these years. His verbal
skills have also improved. Armen is a good-natured boy who wants to
interact and talk with everybody. Slowly, his classmates can
understand him a bit better.
Armen attends the Mkhitar Sepastatsi School that offers an inclusive
educational program that brings in specialists to work with her son
and other special needs children. The boy has also joined the Armenian
dance group.
Manvel Gasparyan says that the number of special needs children in
Armenia is growing and that the reason is the impact of social and
political factors on the parents and incorrect treatment consequences.
Mr. Gasparyan says his long-term wish is to have a number of
rehabilitative centers in all the regions of Armenia.
`This way, all special needs kids and their parents would get help to
fully integrate into society. They would understand that society at
large doesn't reject them but rather accepts and loves them.'
Armenia's Special Needs Children
Sona Avagyan
hetq
15:48, April 14, 2012
There are 317 registered children with disabilities in the Shengavit
district of Yerevan.
54 attend the Youth Creative Center's Emmanuel Children with Special Needs NGO.
The NGO's founding director, Manvel Gasparyan, says there are more
kids needing their services than they can accommodate.
`Right now, we only can accept a new child when a spot opens up,'
Gasparyan says.
Gasparyan is a physiotherapist by profession and has worked for many
years in Russia and Ukraine. He returned to Armenia ten years ago and
saw a need for his services.
Children with a host of various maladies and those that are
mentally-challenged attend the Emmanuel NGO. The gamut runs from kids
with autism to those who have suffered child brain seizures. Some
attend regular schools and others, special schools.
There are twelve professional doctors and therapists that work with
the children on a voluntary basis. The NGO runs a number of therapy
groups - painting, modelling, design, etc.
The NGO also offers free psychological counselling to the parents.
The NGO occupies one room at the Shengavit Youth Creative Center at no
charge. One of Manvel's friends has also temporarily allocated another
room for the counselling sessions.
`We had been petitioning the Shengavit District Administration for a
site since 2007. They finally sent us here. Before, I would offer my
services by going to the homes of these children. We hope to get the
entire floor so that we can expand our operation,' said Gasparyan.
Nareh Aramyan, who heads the Youth Creative Center, told Hetq that the
building doesn't belong to them and that he can't allocate the first
floor to Gasparyan.
`It belongs to the municipality and they have to approve such a plan,'
said Aramyan.
Gasparyan and Aramyan have written letters to various local and
municipal officials regarding a new larger space.
This past February, Gasparyan received a response from the Yerevan
Municipality's Real Estate Administrative Division stating that the
NGO needs a minimum space of 1,000 square meters to operate
effectively, but that the Creative Center's building is not equipped
to allocate such a space.
Mr. Arsen Amyan, from the Real Estate Division, responded that the
building already accommodates a host of extra-curricular educational
and cultural programs. He says that a social services program like
that offered by the Emmanuel NGO would not be expedient.
Nareh Aramyan also agrees with this conclusion, and thinks that a
health and rehabilitative NGO would be best located in another medical
facility.
Gasparyan says that if his NGO were to be allocated the entire first
floor, his friends and international agencies would assist in its
renovation.
Operating out of the one room it now has, the NGO can accept kids from
one to three days per week.
Armen's Mom: "It's been an uphill struggle since the age of two"
Armen, an 11 year-old who attends, is mentally challenged and has
memory issues. He's been coming to the NGO once a week for the past
six months and attends the design class. It assists in improving
creative and mobility functions.
Armineh Galstyan, the boy's mother, says that Armen gets a moral boost
by attending classes.
`He's started to build things at home from paper and glue. Before,
he'd just sit around doing nothing. Now, he wants to work, to hold
things and create. This is a big and significant change for me.'
Armineh has been focusing her attention on her son's physical and
mental problems since they surfaced at the age of two.
`It's been a constant struggle for us all these years. His verbal
skills have also improved. Armen is a good-natured boy who wants to
interact and talk with everybody. Slowly, his classmates can
understand him a bit better.
Armen attends the Mkhitar Sepastatsi School that offers an inclusive
educational program that brings in specialists to work with her son
and other special needs children. The boy has also joined the Armenian
dance group.
Manvel Gasparyan says that the number of special needs children in
Armenia is growing and that the reason is the impact of social and
political factors on the parents and incorrect treatment consequences.
Mr. Gasparyan says his long-term wish is to have a number of
rehabilitative centers in all the regions of Armenia.
`This way, all special needs kids and their parents would get help to
fully integrate into society. They would understand that society at
large doesn't reject them but rather accepts and loves them.'