A beautiful fall morning view of Mount Ararat from Khor Virap
BY HRAG TOMASSIAN
My journey volunteering in Armenia began when I arrived at Zvartnots Airport on July 2nd, 2016. It started with the AYF Youth Corps program, which brings young diasporan Armenians to their homeland to engage with local children in different villages throughout Armenia and Artsakh. The goal of the program is to teach the children English, help them improve their critical thinking skills, play games with them, and most importantly, establish an honest connection as a way of bridging the gap between Armenia and the diaspora.
Of course, before we could do all that, we spent one week orienting ourselves (or in some cases, reorienting) with the beauty of our homeland through sightseeing, day trips, and simply enjoying Yerevan life. Sardarabad, Dzidzernagapert, Garni, Geghard and Echmiadzin were just a few of the historic landmarks we visited. When we weren’t going on excursions, we were walking through the streets of Yerevan with diasporan youth from Lebanon, Australia and Canada, who were also doing similar programs organized by their respective countries. We discovered how drastically the city had changed since some of us had last visited. The development of new cafés, restaurants, hotels and bars, with remodeled, yet culturally preserved, buildings, monuments and parks showed us that Yerevan truly is a hidden gem of Eurasia. I was astonished, to say the least. Even then, I was already having thoughts of moving to Armenia someday soon.
First week of youth corp 2016 at sardarabad
The memories I made even just within my first week in Yerevan were enough for me to conclude that participating in AYF Youth Corps was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. From the bus rides to and from excursions, to spending time with local Armenian youth, to singing heghapoghagan songs and staying up all night playing Arbatash in our hostel, we realized that every day we spend with each other would surely leave a boundless lasting impression.
Yet, the program dictated that after our first week in Yerevan, the 33 participants would be split into two groups for the remaining five weeks of the program. This enabled us to target twice as many villages in Armenia and Artsakh. I was grouped with those who were sent to Askeran, Gyumri, and Proshyan.
In Askeran, all 16 volunteers lived together in one apartment, which meant every day brought new challenges, but also meant that we made some of the best memories of our trip. We befriended the local Armenian youth and played Mafia together, watched EUROCUP 2016 matches together, and even went to the local park in Stepangerd to play volleyball and soccer together.
In Gyumri, we stayed with Deegeen Lilit, a wonderful host who always wanted to make homemade dinners for our group. I’ll never forget the mornings in Gyumri where Varak would wake everyone up with his personal rendition of “Ambitionz of a Riydah,â€
