Kyle’s Journey in Armenia

Activities Description:
Beginning in September 2007, Noyemberyan School #2 will be accepting 20 students with mental and physical disabilities as part of Bridge of Hope NGO’s program, “Step by Step.” The school is vastly unequipped, capitally, to support the students who require handicap accessible facilities. To prepare for the new students, we are working with the Bridge of Hope NGO, the Noyemberyan municipality, and the School #2 staff to raise money for accessible bathrooms and ramps to the school. We wrote a grant to the Yerevan International Women’s Council for ramp renovations, which we received in May, and we completed work on the project in June.

Outcomes (changes in knowledge, attitude, skills, or behaviors):
Several community and school members are excited about the results of the YIWC grant, and several parents of, and students with disabilities, are now planning to enroll at Noyemberyan School #2 after learning of the proposed improvements. The school staff gained knowledge of project design, including segmentation and budgeting, and community members and the municipal government gained awareness and practical construction skills for designing handicap-accessible facilities. Now they will use these skills to manage the project implementation phases with minimal oversight from Peace Corps volunteers. The school and implementing NGO Bridge of Hope both applied for a CHE volunteer, which will further help them implement this project in Noyemberyan.