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The EU continues to support the integration and socio-psychological needs of displaced children from Nagorno-Karabakh

30.306 of the refugees that were displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023 are children, according to data from Armenia’s Migration and Citizenship Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Since 2020, the European Union has been implementing several projects to address the numerous problems faced by children and their families and to provide support.

Specifically, to meet the socio-psychological and educational needs of the children, from December 2023 to June 2024, the “Children of Armenia Fund” (COAF), with EU funding, implemented the “Rapid Assistance Program for Integration of Displaced Children in Armenia for Resilience and Empowerment.”

According to Gayane Vardanyan, manager of the foundation’s village programmes, with the EU’s support, they were able to respond quickly to the primary needs of displaced children and their family members and implement a six-month multi-component program, which included socio-psychological, speech therapy, and educational services for refugees settled in the Armavir and Lori regions.

War is an abnormal event that disrupts the natural course of life, and for refugees to first recognise their emotions and become familiar with primary stress management mechanisms, the foundation’s psychologists worked with individuals of different age groups within the project.

Anna Harutyunyan notes that each center served 6-7 communities. Psychologists observed that displaced people exhibited fear, anxiety, and worry. Soldiers also displayed heightened sensitivity and irritability. The goal of this component was to reduce feelings of anxiety and tension among refugees of different age groups and to support them in overcoming traumatic events. The project, implemented with EU funding, also included speech therapy support, which helped children develop and improve their language skills and resolve socialisation issues more quickly.
Ten-year-old Maria Abrahamyan is from the town of Chartar in the Martuni district of NK and now lives in the Armavir region. She benefited from speech therapy within the “Rapid Assistance Program for Integration of Displaced Children in Armenia for Resilience and Empowerment.”

Milana and Armine Gabrielyan also benefited from speech therapy. They are from the village of Ashan in the Martuni district of Nagorno-Karabakh. Now they live in the Armavir region.

The six-month courses have yielded results. If they previously had difficulties communicating with peers, they now see positive changes after working with speech therapists and participating in play-based methods.

As part of the programme, children were also offered a separate educational track in AgriTech, since many families settled in rural communities. The goal was to provide children with knowledge that would be applicable to their families, particularly for cultivating household plots.

Fifteen-year-old Miranda Asryan is one of the participants in the AgriTech course. She is from the village of Vank in the Martakert district of Nagorno-Karabakh and now lives in the Lori region.

With the support of the European Union, the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) has implemented a program involving around 300 children. After participating in the project, their lives have seen positive changes, significantly improving their quality of life and social-psychological well-being. The European Union remains committed to supporting vulnerable groups.