CREATING SECURITY CONDITIONS FOR CHILDREN IN GAVAR SPECIAL SCHOOL

ArmRadio.am
20.12.2006 10:38

On December 20, 2006 at 14:00 the official opening of the fence
of Gavar Special School #1 will take place. The school’s fence
was constructed 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,
Gegharkunik Marzpetaran, and the Gavar community will participate in
the event.

The Special School in Gavar is the only school for mentally and
physically handicapped children in Gegharkunik marz. Founded in 1976,
it has 45 children in residence and 47 more children attend the
school on a daily basis from a greater Gavar. All of the children
suffer from a mental deficiency – Down Syndrome, mental retardation,
and Alcohol Syndrome.

Approximately 25% of these children also have physical
disabilities. Given that out of the 650 children with special needs
among the marz population 80% have little or no access to special
education, the school administration works to improve the school
conditions and involve more disabled children. With an increasing
school population, security and safety of the children had become
a vital issue for the school. In particular, there was an urgent
need to construct a courtyard wall for the safety of the children,
for what the school administration applied to Save the Children for
a Community Self-Help Fund program grant.

As a result of the project a new fence made of tufa stone and metal
bar stretching of 385 meters was constructed. It allows the 92
school children to safely spend time outside the building and not
feel isolated.

The total cost of the project was USD 18,756 of which USD 15,658
was provided by the Community Self-Help Fund, while USD 3,098 (16.5%
of the project cost) was contributed by the Gavar community in form
of labor and construction materials.