October update
Hey everyone,
Well, I don’t even know where to begin. I suppose I’ll start by answering some comments that have been posted recently with this statement: this is a professional blog covering my service here in Armenia, and it is meant to be a positive narrative of my efforts, and the efforts of those I encounter through my work. I try not to focus on the negative aspects of life here, as that doesn’t necessarily get us anywhere – I try to highlight the positive things that are going on here, the progress that’s being made, the efforts and endeavors that are making this country a better place (ideally).
That said, I want to highlight a very positive, and inspiring effort by one Eric Vartanian – from Los Angeles, CA. Eric is a youth working and engaging life through volunteerism and activism. I met him, and his family, on a recent trip to Armenia. He’s building bridges and working to make a difference, both within his community in the US, as well as here in Armenia.
Eric works with an Armenian Church Youth Organization, out of St. Peter’s Church in Van Nuys, CA. They’ve recently completed a project to help an orphanage in Yerevan. And he’s making preparations for another series of projects aimed at equitable development and assisting marginalized groups here in AR.
Anyway, check out his website and keep up with his activities!
www.HopeforArmenia.synthasite.com
I also wanted to draw everyone’s attention to some amazing work that The Lazarian World Home Project is doing. The project is a non-profit Partnership between Point Loma Nazarene University, Baylor University and Armenian Relief and Development Agency. The Partnership is currently building Lazarian World Home structures in Armenia and Mexico. Individuals and organizations are invited to join the Partnership in building Homes, Schools, and Church/Community centers for the World’s needy. All building plans, specifications, and training is provided free to whomever is interested.
The Lazarian World Homes are Green and recyclable; here are some highlights –
+Eco-friendly
+Affordable
+Quick and Easy to Build
+40-50 Year Economic Life
+Can Withstand a 8.0 Earthquake
For more information, please visit www.lazarianworldhomes.com
As for me, my work is going extremely well. I’ve wrapped up some work on several grants, and have started a new one focusing on Youth Development in rural areas surrounding Sevan.
The Organic Chicken Farm is finally coming along (again, thanks in large part to Helen Saribekyan and Alexandra Melikian of Phoenix, AZ in the name of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona). We had some problems getting an agreement made on the land; institutionalized corruption can play havoc on seemingly simple land transactions. But anyway, problem solved and we’re on track. We might have to start major construction in early spring, as the weather is turning against us. It’s going to be a cold winter.
I’ve finished off some fantastic business consulting projects that I really, really enjoyed working on. In conjunction with Armenian Caritas, and Elizabeth Pou – another Enterprise Development Advisor – the big EU grant I had mentioned previously (almost 300,000Euro) has moved onto the next stage of approval. It looks like the big one is really going to happen (knock on wood)! I’m really excited about that one; it’s a legacy project.
I’m writing a new project for Youth Engagement called, “Youth Voices.” The basic concept will be to form a Youth Council of Sevan; this would entail the formation of a Young People’s Steering Group (Leadership Body, the advent and creation of a Young Voices Mini-Mag (with youth Subject Editors) and ), and the establishment of a Neighborhood Renewal Community Chest (Youth Bank-type fund instituted with a $500 max for community projects, drawing from $3000 in total funds - one grant a month for 6 months). The Young Voices Mini-Mag will report on a monthly-hosted guest lecturer covering a youth-related topic (Gender Issues, Rule of Law, Civic Issues, Environmental Issues, etc.). The rest of the mag will be drawn from the interests of the Youth community of Sevan. We want the youth of Sevan to see themselves as a body of people, with independent views and opinions and likes, dislikes and hopes and dreams. We want youth to work for the change they want in their society.
We hope the magazine will be something they can coalesce around. The project also will have a “Neighborhood Renewel Unit,” of mobilized youth that can write small, community-oriented development projects. The youth will have had to have graduated from a Project Design & Management training seminar we’ll be hosting at the beginning of the project, to be eligible to apply for one of the NRCC small-project assistance grants. The projects will be featured in the Mini-Mag every month.
I’ve also written an Anti-Corruption Project recently that I’m shopping around for funding. I think that the key to driving change through developmental efforts in any sphere in Armenia, is through the advent of stakeholder groups, which build on peer networks that enable mentality shifts within group think dynamics. Specific to combating corruption within Armenia, there need to be stakeholder groups which are engaged in regards to, and knowledgeable about, this multifarious issue, as it is a truly encompassing problem that has permeated virtually all social, economic, and political subsystems within Armenia. There needs to be reworking of the mentality of stakeholders, in how they interact with corruption. We need to address the elicited response to corruption, however it is encountered. Corruption affects the elderly, youth, rural populations, entrepreneurs and women in similar, yet very different ways. Corruption has become so institutionalized that there is virtually no group that is not directly impacted by corruption. How that group, or individual, responds, is what needs to be addressed. Anyway, I’ll keep you all updated on that project.
My Marketing Management course at Gavar State University is coming along well. I’m giving my first test this coming Wednesday, and I’m hoping everyone in my class does very well. I’ll post pictures of them next time I update.
My recently approved Youth Development project, working in conjunction with the Technodrom NGO in Sevan is moving along quickly. We’ve almost finished the training series for our first village (Ledjashen). Here are some pictures of the youth from Ledjashen who are participating in our project, along with one of our Life Skills trainers, Jerry Kenny (pictured right):
This project will give an opportunity for youth to experience and learn more about the five main spheres of civic education [Human Rights (constitutional rights, electoral rights, legal rights and labor rights), Life Skills (communication skills, social skills, leadership skills, decision-making skills), Health (gender issues in health, smoking/alcohol abuse, healthy lifestyles, coping with stress), Business (project design & management, how to set up a small business, how to write a business plan, how to find business help & advice, issues and opportunities in rural development), Civic Skills (role of NGOs in Armenia, how to form formal and informal groups to address community needs / problems / opportunities, civic awareness and community analysis)] we’ll be covering with the eventual aim of contributing to their country’s rural development. It is key to increasing their awareness and knowledge of the most vital spheres of civic skills and general life skills, in turn motivating them to make changes, and be aware of how to do so, at the grassroots level. One of the project’s aims is to teach youth to not only recognize problems but show them they have skills to solve them – to empower them to make a difference. This would be done, in part, through action groups, which would teach youth how to face their perceived problems head-on and work together to solve them; there is a collaborative element in addressing shared problems that have an overall commonality, and this project seeks to teach the youth how to act in concert through participatory, collaborative practices to be catalysts for change. We are sure that they will benefit from it and it will have an immense influence on their future.
Our vision for the project is to create youth stakeholder groups which will facilitate a peer network for the nurturing of positive life skills, including but not limited to the vital Human Rights, Life Skills, Health, Business, and Civic Skills spheres we seek to address specifically. The knowledge and experiences they gain through this project will give them self confidence to improve their lives, improve their communities, start their own business, start their own NGO, etc. The project will take detailed quantitative and qualitative “indicators of success” including a baseline and follow-up survey of perceptions respective to all spheres addressed through the project, as well as quantitative measurements of actions taken by participants during the implementation of the project, and a follow-up measurement six months after its conclusion.
One more thing before I sign off. I want to encourage you all to visit www.fromtheheart.am which was set up by another volunteer to feature the work of three amazing Armenian artists: Artur Gasparyan, Movses Poghosyan, and Edvard Arevshatian. Please take a moment to check out some of their work.
Anyway, that’s where I’ll leave it for this update. My Mom is coming for a visit and I’m picking her up from the airport in less than 24 hours!!! I’ll save more exciting updates for later this week; I hope all is well with you all.
-Robert Dietrich
P.S. I also want to throw in a thank you to the generous people over at Rassai Interactive who host this site for me. They are doing some really amazing things in Interactive Technology and it is totally worth your time to check out their website www.rassai.com
Also – a big congrats to them for winning the Small Business of the Year award recently! Go Rassai!!!!
October 27th, 2008 at 2:27 am
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