Armenia: Youth Work in Refugee Camps

Background

As a result of the war between the neighbouring lands of Karabach and Asarbeidjan (1988-1994), 300'000 people were forced to flee to Armenia. Refugee camps were set up outside existing cities and villages. The inhabitants of these refugee camps are in a more difficult position than that of the normal population of Armenia. They have practically no possibility of education, earning an income or of integration with the normal community.  This is extremely difficult for the younger generation who experience nothing but privations and must, with their parents, fight for their existence and integration. The YMCA has initiated a project in these refugee camps together with the United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees.

Profile: Mariam Sholyan

„Our village is quite big, but we don’t have a youth centre“, says the 18 year old Mariam Sholyan. She can still meet up with her friends since the YMCA introduced a leisure programme at her school. She has been taking part for three years – enjoys the organised sporting events and excursions and also took part in a large Ten Sing Festival in Yerewan. She could also take part in a summer camp due to her work for the YMCA - for the first time in her life she stayed somewhere without her parents – a crucial experience in her life: „The two weeks in the summer camp were the best time of my life! I found new friends and learnt how to organise events for children.“

YMCA Refugee Program

The school and leisure programs organised by the Armenian YMCA give young people in ten refugee camps the chance to develop into healthy individuals and to experience positive situations in peaceful, safe surroundings.  Apart from the usual school curriculum, the youths can take advantage of additional themes aimed at making getting a job easier. They also learn how to integrate with the locals and the community at large. The YMCA‘s summer and TenSing camps are often the first step to breaking out of isolation and to finding new friends.