OSCE supports education for disadvantaged children in Armenia's Syunik region
KAPAN, Armenia, 19 March 2010 - A ceremony to mark the opening of an extracurricular education centre for children from socially and economically disadvantaged families was held in Kapan, in the Syunik region of Armenia, today.
The school was refurbished and equipped by the Syunik Diocese of Armenian Apostolic Church and the local authorities. Representatives of local authorities, civil society organizations and educational institutions, as well as the children and their parents, participated in the opening.
Christoph Opfermann, the OSCE Office's Economic and Environmental Officer, said: "The OSCE Office hopes that the centre will help support better integration of the children and develop their skills and talents to safeguard children's rights".
The centre, supported by the OSCE Programme Implementation Presence in Syunik, will be run by the OSCE-supported Women Resource Centre in Kapan. It will be open four days a week and will provide support for 65 to 70 disadvantaged children from Kapan and surrounding villages. The school will pay particular attention to children who are forced to beg on the streets, a growing problem in the area.
The specially designed arts and crafts programme will provide children with an opportunity to develop their talents in this area, with the school premises serving as a showroom for the children's artworks.
The Kapan Public Environmental Information (Aarhus) Centre will also support the school with courses and lectures on environment, biodiversity and environmental protection as well as organizing local tours to nature reserves and places of cultural and historical interest.
The project was financed by contributions from the OSCE participating States at the annual OSCE Charity Ball.