Tackling Educational Disadvantage in Rural Armenia

This fundraising campaign is organised by the Chair of Trustees on behalf of the Oxford Armenia Foundation (OAF), a registered UK charity (1193788). 

The Oxford Armenia Foundation (OAF) is delighted to announce the launch of its first fundraising campaign! Our current project aims at providing educational activities for vulnerable children in rural communities of the Shirak Province of Armenia. We thank all our donors and supporters. Please spread the word about our initiative!

Who we are & what we do
 
The Oxford Armenia Foundation (OAF) was set up by a group of like-minded Armenians living and/or studying in Oxford. We came together in response to the devastating war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the lingering socio-economic challenges in Armenia. We believe that poverty can only be alleviated with high-quality education and strive to create equal opportunities for vulnerable children in rural and remote communities in Armenia.
 
Our work is focused on the eradication of digital poverty, providing materials and equipment for schools as well as providing skills and training. In particular, we aim to help school students and teachers get involved in extra-curricular activities, including those in the areas of music and art, and introduce the basics of personal, social, health, and economic education. We believe that education can change lives and that no child should be left behind. By supporting Armenia’s children, we invest in the country’s future.

What’s the goal of our fundraiser?

The goal of this campaign is to raise funds for our first educational project in Armenia.

The project aims at arranging summer activities for children in remote communities of the Shirak Province of Armenia. The activities will include art therapy, painting & drawing sessions, dancing workshops, a series of educational trips to historical and cultural sites, museums / galleries in the capital city of Yerevan, a guided tour of a hi-tech centre.

The planned duration of the project is 3.5 months (provisional start mid-June 2021 to end of September 2021).

Our beneficiaries

The project is planned for 35 to 40 beneficiaries who are children and teenagers aged between 8 to 14 from disadvantaged and low-income families in economically deprived and isolated communities in the Shirak Province of Armenia. Priority will be given to children and teenagers from the families that have been forcefully displaced from the Nagorno-Karabakh area as a result of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and have recently settled in the targeted communities.

The financial breakdown of our fundraising target

Art therapy (by a leading art psychologist) and art lessons – £2100
(costs includes tuition fees, equipment, venue bookings, snacks, transport and other needs)

Dance classes – £1800
(costs includes tuition fees, equipment, venue bookings, snacks, transport and other needs)

Educational trips – £2200
Provisional suggestions are:

        -Gyumri technological institute
        -National Gallery
        -COAF Smart Centre

(costs include tickets, transport, snacks and meals, tour guides, and any other needs)

Total cost
£6100
 

Why this is important

We consider art therapy a powerful therapeutic tool for working through our beneficiaries’ experiences and perceptions and help them battle the war and displacement trauma, social isolation and discomfort, and other psychological issues. This, together with drawing/painting and dancing lessons, will help the beneficiaries to feel less isolated and create strong social ties with their peers. Finally, a series of educational trips will motivate our beneficiaries to study and strive for personal development.

While therapy through art and culture is already in practice in many parts of the world, it is certainly a new territory for educational programmes in Armenia. Such opportunities are simply not available to children and teenagers living in our target areas. We want to bring a memorable and healing change into the lives of our beneficiaries and make an important contribution towards building stronger and happier communities.

Every contribution matters, every donation counts.

To learn more about the Oxford Armenia Foundation, you can visit our Website 

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