Some 300 vulnerable children will be equipped
to earn a living after they graduate high school as a result of 19 professional classes now offered at three boarding schools for vulnerable children in Armenia's capital Yerevan. The establishment of
these classes is the outcome of World Vision's advocacy efforts and close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia.
World Vision promotes
professional education in all special institutions operating in Armenia by advocating for the establishment of professional classes for high school students.
'Professional classes are of
prior importance, especially for high school students who will have to earn a living by themselves after they graduate,' says Anahit Grigoryan, child protection programmes coordinator, World Vision
Armenia.
'Through professional classes we seek to secure future employment for the children, as well as to broaden their worldview,' says Ms. Grigoryan.
The boarding
schools mostly enroll children who have one or even both parents, but their families are unable to provide for them. More than 11,000 children live in Armenia's special institutions, including 900
children who live in state orphanages, according to a UNICEF report in 2006.
The professional classes run with World Vision support include sewing, ceramics, and hairdressing for girls;
and culinary and shoe-repair classes for boys. World Vision also supports extra curriculum classes in which students can learn activities such as football.
Alongside with professional
classes World Vision organizes study tours to well-known companies and international organizations to motivate children in their pursuit of a better future.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A Druze child holds up a sign during a protest against Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights in the northern Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights February 14, ...
