Strengthening Families Across Rural Armenia: COAF’s Child & Family Centers in 2025

A look at how nearly 6,000 caregivers, children, parents and professionals strengthened their skills, resilience, and confidence this year.

In 2025, COAF’s Child & Family Centers (CFCs) continued to serve as vital hubs of support for rural communities—places where children develop essential skills, parents find guidance, and local specialists gain the tools they need to better serve the next generation. Across our four centers in Myasnikyan, Debed, Karakert, and Hatsik, COAF reached an extraordinary 5,767 people, fostering strong foundations for families to thrive. 

• 2,814 ongoing beneficiaries
• 2,953 training & event participants

Note: Numbers reflect activity recorded through mid-November 2025; totals may vary slightly by the time of reading.

Together, the centers form a growing network of professional excellence and compassionate care—one that strengthens families, empowers educators, and builds healthier, more resilient communities throughout Armavir and Lori.

Myasnikyan: The Heart of a Growing Resource Network

Located on the grounds of COAF’s second SMART Campus (currently in development), the Youredjian Child & Family Center in Myasnikyan has become the beating heart of COAF’s capacity-building efforts. Serving 15 surrounding communities and rooted in a model of collaboration, dignity, and continuous learning, Myasnikyan is home to COAF’s first Resource Hub—a year-round training center supporting professionals who work with children every day.

In 2025, Myasnikyan supported:

• 482 ongoing beneficiaries, receiving individualized psychosocial, speech-language, and early development services
• 909 participants across trainings and community events

The Resource Hub offered a uniquely comprehensive calendar of programs, including sessions on:

• Speech and language development
• Early childhood milestones and caregiver guidance
• Adolescent mental health and resilience
• Trauma-informed approaches in social work
• ABA methodologies and inclusive education
• Sensory integration
• Conflict resolution and emotional regulation

What makes Myasnikyan especially impactful is not only the depth and diversity of its programming but also its role as a replication engine. Much of COAF’s professional development content—first piloted and refined in Myasnikyan—was later delivered in Karakert, Hatsik, and Debed, ensuring unified standards across the entire network.

Through each training, discussion, and hands-on workshop, Myasnikyan continues to nurture a shared culture of learning—bringing specialists and parents together, fostering community-wide knowledge exchange, and raising the level of child-centered practice and parenting across the region.

A Year of Collective Impact Across All COAF Child & Family Centers

Across our four centers, 2025 was marked by a rich diversity of programs that together shaped a holistic support system for children and the adults who care for them. In total, COAF Child & Family Centers served:

Across all centers, trainings and workshops have had shared focus areas including:

• Speech and language development for children and early educators
• Parenting education to strengthen communication, connection, and caregiving
• Emotional and behavioral development workshops for children, teens, and parents
• Bullying prevention and school well-being in collaboration with village schools
• Early childhood development and school readiness
• Mental health support for children and adolescents
• Social work and case management training for local professionals
• Capacity-building for teachers, psychologists, and speech therapists

Center by Center: A Snapshot of Impact

Each center played a meaningful role:

The Debed Child & Family Center expanded holistic services for families in Lori, with growing synergy with the COAF SMART Center. Many methodologies first tested in Myasnikyan—such as ABA strategies, speech development tools, and resilience-building practices—were successfully replicated here.

The Karakert Child & Family Center focused strongly on school-based prevention, offering programs on bullying awareness, leadership, and teen-parent communication, ensuring safe and supportive environments for adolescents.

The Hatsik Child & Family Center stood out for its deep work in speech development and early literacy, hosting high-participation sessions for parents and educators and fostering a strong culture of early childhood support.

Together, these centers form a cohesive and interconnected system—one that strengthens entire communities, not just individual children.

By Center:

• Debed: 855 ongoing beneficiaries | 840 training participants
• Karakert: 831 ongoing beneficiaries | 675 training participants
• Hatsik: 646 ongoing beneficiaries | 529 training participants
• Myasnikyan: 482 ongoing beneficiaries | 909 training participants

Why This Model Works: A Rural Child Protection System in Motion

The strength of COAF’s Child & Family Centers lies in their shared philosophy: that a child’s well-being equally depends on the well-being, knowledge, and capacity of the adults around them.

In 2025, cross-center collaboration grew stronger than ever. Professionals from different villages met through Myasnikyan Resource Hub trainings; new methodologies flowed between centers; and community-level approaches to mental health, early childhood development, and speech-language support were elevated through unified standards and shared expertise.

This model transforms communities from within and ensures that the positive changes we see in children today continue to grow long after a single workshop or counseling session ends.

Looking Ahead: Strengthening the Network in 2026

As we look toward 2026, COAF remains committed to expanding and deepening this network of support. Our goals include:

• Developing new Resource Hub modules for caregivers and specialists
• Increasing parent engagement and early childhood education programs
• Strengthening teen-focused mental health and resilience initiatives
• Enhancing collaboration between Child & Family Centers, local institutions, and the communities they serve
• Expanding and refining programs within existing communities to deepen impact and reach more families

With every new skill learned and every family supported, we are building a stronger, healthier, and more resilient Armenia—one village at a time.

Thank You

None of this work would be possible without our generous supporters, partners, and community members. Your commitment ensures that children across rural Armenia are seen, heard, supported, and surrounded by adults who are prepared to help them thrive.

Together, we are shaping futures—today and for generations to come.

‍