RENOVATED KINDERGARTEN IN VERISHEN READY TO PROVIDE IMPROVED EDUCATIONAL AND CARE CONDITIONS
ArmRadio.am
13.12.2006 14:52
On December 14, 2006 at 13:00 the official opening ceremony of the
kindergarten in Verishen village will take place. The kindergarten
was renovated through the US Embassy and USAID-funded Community
Self-Help Fund (CSHF) program, which is implemented by Save the
Children. Representatives of the US Embassy, USAID, Save the Children,
Syunik Marzpetaran, Verishen local government and the community will
participate in the event.
The kindergarten of Verishen village (2,250 residents) is a two-storied
building constructed in 1974. Until 2001 the kindergarten functioned
with 120 children enrolled, including 30 from the neighboring Akner
village, and run by 18 staff. Strong winds in 2001 swept away the roof
of the building due to which the rainwaters systematically penetrated
into the building and flooded the interior. This led to complete
destruction of the building – sanitary units and heating system went
out of order, hindering the functioning of the kindergarten. Though
in 2002 the building’s roof was renovated through the funding from
World Vision, however the overall problem still existed. Due to poor
hygiene and heating conditions the number of children enrolled in the
kindergarten gradually decreased which resulted in the final closure of
the kindergarten in 2004. As the re-opening of the kindergarten was of
vital importance for the village, the local authorities intensively
began seeking funding for the renovation of the building. In 2005
Jinishian Family Foundation helped renovate the sanitary units of the
kindergarten. However, the kindergarten still had major unresolved
problems, which impeded the kindergarten’s functioning.
Thus the kindergarten administration applied to Save the Children for
a CSHF program grant to renovate the heating system and finalize the
internal renovation.
The Community Self-Help Fund program helped renovate and upgrade
the kindergarten’s kitchen, laundry, health post, events’ hall, 3
playrooms and 3 bedrooms, and install a gas boiler and an internal
heating system. As a result, the heating system and the building’s
premises were improved, and the kindergarten finally got ready to
receive children in proper educational and care conditions. After
the kindergarten’s re-opening, 90 children will begin attending it,
and 18 staff will be hired.
The total cost of the project was USD 26,599 of which USD 18,199
was provided by the Community Self-Help Fund, while USD 8,400 (about
32% of the project cost) was contributed by the Verishen and Akner
villages municipalities in form of labor and construction materials. In
addition, the local dairy producing company "Elola" LTD committed to
provide dairy products in the amount of about USD 180 per month.