15 ACYOA YOUTH TEACH – AND LEARN – FROM YOUNG CAMPERS IN ARMENIA
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Wednes day August 19, 2009
Vanadzor, Lori Province, Armenia – Nestled in the scenic mountains
of Vanadzor in Armenia’s northern region of Lori is a modest center
offering spiritual and recreational activities to local children who
wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford summer camp.
It was here – in the simple but stirring setting of Camp Tzitzernak –
that 15 young people from the Eastern Diocese spent a week teaching
English and assisting camp staff as part of the Armenia Service Program
(ASP), organized annually by the Armenian Church Youth Organization
of America.
"Camp is always my favorite part of the trip," said Syona Marout,
a past ASP participant who co-led this summer’s program with the
Rev. Fr. Mesrob Hovsepyan. "The campers and staff were wonderful,
and as always, made us feel extremely welcome."
Armed with lanyards, crayons, markers, and other materials, the
ASP volunteers designed and introduced an arts & crafts class this
year. One morning toward the end of their visit, they also surprised
the campers by dressing up in character costumes for breakfast.
"When we made our entrance, all of the kids and staff started to smile
and laugh, and it absolutely made their morning," Ms. Marout recalled.
Run by the Gougark Diocese, Camp Tzitzernak shares a warm relationship
with the Eastern Diocese. Last year, the Eastern Diocese’s Sunday
School Lenten Drive collected $16,800 to help underwrite renovation
projects at the camp.
Contributions like these, along with the assistance of volunteers,
make it possible for the camp to enroll children at no cost to their
families. ASP group members in turn experience life in Armenia’s third
largest city, which is still recovering from the 1988 earthquake and
adopting post-independence changes.
"The interaction between the campers and the ASP participants was
the most important part of the trip," said Fr. Hovsepyan, pastor of
the St. James Armenian Church of Richmond, Va.
"It was not only the campers who learned a few English words and arts
& crafts skills from our youth," he added, "but it was our young
participants who also learned from the children about their lives,
their schools, and their interests. They had an opportunity to compare
the lifestyle of the campers with the lifestyle of the children here
in the U.S."
The weeklong volunteering session at Camp Tzitzernak is the cornerstone
of the ASP trip, which took place this year between June 21 and July
12. The program also featured two weeks of sightseeing, including
visits to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Matenadaran
manuscript archive, the Armenian Genocide Museum, Lake Sevan, and a
number of other churches, museums, and monuments.
A highlight was the group’s audience with Karekin II, the Catholicos
of All Armenians, at the Mother See.
The Catholicos spoke to ASP participants about "the richness of our
religion, history, and culture, and about their important role in
the life of the Armenian Church," Fr. Hovsepyan said.
At the invitation of the Catholicos, the young visitors attended a
children’s performance at the Paronian Theater in Yerevan. The show
was put on by children taking courses at the Hayortats Tner or Armenian
Church Youth Centers, jointly sponsored by Holy Etchmiadzin and AGBU.
Armenia’s mysteries linger
The travelers also had a chance to meet with young people at a church
in Yerevan’s Jrvezh district. They heard the choir perform sacred
hymns and folk songs, and spent time practicing English and getting
to know each other.
"We sang and danced and played games in the church yard, with
Mt. Ararat in the background," said ASP participant Michelle Birky.
Traveling to Nagorno-Karabakh, ASP participants toured the monastery
at Gandzasar and the Soorp Amenaprgich Kazanchetsots Cathedral in
Shushi, the administrative center of the Artsakh Diocese.
Built in 1887, the cathedral was recently restored to remove the damage
caused during the Karabakh war and years of neglect during Soviet rule.
"Architecturally, it is absolutely beautiful," Ms. Marout said of the
cathedral. "As Karabakh continues on its road to recovering from the
devastations of the war, I feel that it serves as a beacon of hope
and faith."
Group members said they shared a sense of togetherness fostered by
their common interest in exploring Armenia and learning more about
their heritage.
They sang the Der Voghormya hymn at one of the chapels of the
Geghard cave monastery, released doves from the Khor Virab monastery
overlooking Armenia’s border with Turkey, enjoyed fresh kebab in a
private garden not far from the Garni temple, posed for pictures at the
Artashavan complex of Armenian letters, met with youth service groups
from the Western and Canadian dioceses, and had many opportunities
to discover local customs.
"It was a very different culture, but one I am proud to call my own,"
said ASP participant Christine Quinn, adding that she was touched by
the resourcefulness and optimism of the local population in the face
of hardships.
"Seeing the churches and monasteries, with their thousand-year-old
stones still holding together strong, amazed me at how far we have
come and how strongly our traditions have stayed connected," Ms. Quinn
said. "I was left with a certain sense of mystery about the land,
a mystery that made me feel like I should come back."
Others, too, said they felt compelled to make another journey to
Armenia in the future. Ms. Marout herself has been on the ASP trip
three times – once as a participant, and twice as an assistant
group leader.
"Visiting and serving in Armenia was an amazing and inspiring
experience," Ms. Birky said. "I definitely plan to return some day."
ASP, formerly called the Armenia Studies Program, dates to the late
1960s. The program was suspended for several years following the 1988
earthquake but resumed in 1992, with a group visiting Armenia every
summer since.
The ACYOA Central Council has already begun preparations for the 2010
ASP, with plans to announce dates in December. The program is open
to college students and young professionals, ages 19 to 28.
The ASP participants "left Armenia with unforgettable memories,"
Fr. Hovsepyan said. "It is one thing to read about Armenia’s history
in books or to see pictures of the country’s historic sites, and
another thing to visit and experience all those places first hand."
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