Help the Children Project : Zatik Orphanage

The earthquake, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the war altogether count for the actual reasons of children to be abandoned in Armenia. This was a critical concern for many people. The idea of opening an orphanage was born and implemented by "Ganzasar" theological Center of Artsakh eparchy led by Bishop Pargev Martirosyan and managed by priest Mesrop Aramyan. One of the employees of the Center A. Mnatsakanyan - was appointed as a headmaster of the orphanage. The initial assumption was to buy a house and bring together all beggars and children from streets to be taken care of, brought up and educated. Finally, this resulted in applying to various authorities and opening of "Zatik" orphanage. It was a miracle, for it was the time when many of entities, factories and preschool institutions were closing. To open an orphanage in that widespread standstill chaos was indeed like a miracle.
The orphanage was opened on September 1 of 1993 under the auspices of the RA Ministry of Science and Education. Following the GOA Decision from January 1 2003 it was transferred to the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Issues (the previous name of the Ministry of Social Security). The orphanage is thankful to all individuals and charity organizations that supported in times of hardships and fostered the establishment of the orphanage. "Zatik" was opened in one of the suburbs of Yerevan, namely Kanaker district, hosted by the Retarded Children Boarding School building. For a while these two institutions were operating together utilizing the same building, kitchen, laundry, hall… Soon the orphanage was packed with beggars and abandoned children. It became necessary to have a separate building for the special preschool institution, which moved to a new building in 1998, leaving all premises under the disposal of "Zatik". The state of the building demanded urgent reconstruction. "Proviktimis" Swiss organization VAD, solicited by Armenian-Swiss organization and Jinishian Foundation, carried out the reconstruction, granting the orphanage its current appearance.
There are study rooms, a kitchen, canteen, laundry, library, computer room, hall, dentist cabinet, and primary health unit with an isolator predicted for children with infectious diseases. The orphanage has also sports ground where goalposts and baskets have been recently placed and different sports games are organized. Admission of children was coupled with big problems. There were many cases of serious infectious diseases, such as TB, herpes, various coetaneous and mental illnesses, treatment of which required serious professional interventions. We do appreciate the efforts of the institutions and individuals who supported us. In particular, we would like to express our gratitude towards the German-Armenian doctor for the timely detection of TB epidemic. He made it possible to suppress it, preventing its spread. The second problem was connected with education of children. Many of them had never attended schools, while many others were far beyond those of their same-aged children. Children were allocated in the schools neighboring the orphanage, and the orphanage had to hire additional teachers for several subjects to assist them to fill the gap.
Due to the intensive efforts, children jumped one class (after taking the exams, of course) at the beginning of the next school year upon the order of the Minister of Science and Education. Today "Zatik" is hosting 140 children. The orphanage has 6 groups, each of which has its name. The groups are formed based on the age and gender differences. There are 3 girls’ and 3 boys’ groups. The group of small girls is called "Khatutuik" (Dandelion), and the group of 6-10 years boys is called "Titer" (Butterfly). 10-13 girls’ group is called "Shushan" (Lily) and the age group of boys – "Kaytsak" (Lightening). 14-18 years old girls group is called "Manushak" (Violet), and the same age group of boys – "Noah". Children demonstrating excellent achievement continue their education in high schools, colleges and other educational institutions. Eight-grade education is obligatory for all orphanage children. Those who are not skilled to continue the education in high schools attempt to receive vocational education in relevant schools. Children with musical skills attend music schools, children who prefer sports (the great majority) are provided with such an opportunity.
The orphanage has a girls’ chorus and dance class with 40 attendants. There is a sewing factory attached to the orphanage, and its management is always open to hire school graduates from the orphanage children. In addition to routine measures, the orphanage initiates different events in relevant cases and invites high officials. Among such events was the tenth jubilee of the orphanage in 2003. Celebration of the tenth anniversary of "Zatik" was grand. The orphanage children contributed with their songs and dances, cited poems and acted in performances.

Staff

The orphanage has 69 employees, of which 9 are administrative personnel. There are 2 health providers: dentist and pediatrician, 4 nurses, of which one is nurse-nutritionist, and 21 child minders. There are 18 educators and 15 technical staff members. 32 out of 69 employees have high education, 20 –vocational and 17 secondary education.

"Zatik" Orphanage