Learning to Save Lives–First Aid Takes Center Stage in Rural Armenia
April 2, 2025
In a high-stakes first aid showdown on February 29th, finalists from over a dozen rural Armenian schools showcased their emergency
In a high-stakes first aid showdown on February 29th, finalists from over a dozen rural Armenian schools showcased their emergency
COAF is matching its alumni with graduates from the Matena International School of Leaders through MentorcliQ, building a powerful network
When Mary Baghdasaryan from Alaverdi first arrived at the COAF SMART Center in Lori, she was amazed by the size of the hub— her music school’s stage was the only thing that compared to the scale of its amphitheater.
Elen Kharatyan from the village of Dsegh in Lori first stepped into the SMART Center at just eight years old—and she hasn’t been away for long since.
She says every program at SMART has something special to offer, but the ones closest to her heart are Dance, Drawing, and Russian. Right now, she’s especially excited about joining the AgriTech program.
Once the bassist of Vanadzor’s beloved band Clocker, and later a trombone player during his army service, Sevada Hovhannisyan now brings his musical journey full circle as the Sound Design instructor at the COAF SMART Center in Lori.
At SMART, it’s unlikely to find someone who doesn’t know the theater arts program instructor, Tatul Bostanchyan. At the least, everyone’s heard his famous “Helloo!”—the most effective silencing call—at least once on SMART summer program days.
Narek’s older brother may have joined SMART first, but it didn’t take long for the roles to reverse. Soon, everyone was calling his older brother “Narek’s brother, Manvel.”
The SMART Center in Lori is the setting for the pivoting point in many young student’s stories: the place they discovered their passion, discovered themselves, and sometimes both. This is the story of one such young adult.
Last year, COAF’s English textbooks transformed classrooms across Armenia. This year, COAF is going even further.
Narek Saroyan, a student from COAF’s English Access program and a native of Arapi village in Armenia’s Shirak region, recently returned victorious from the United States. He and his team represented Armenia at the prestigious First Robotics Competition. You might wonder—what’s the connection between English and robotics?
Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that employs community-led approaches aimed at improving the quality of life in rural Armenia, with particular focus on children and youth.
New York, USA
149 5th Ave., Suite 500
New York, NY 10010
+1 (212) 994-8234
coaf@coaf.org
Yerevan, Armenia
2/2 Melik Adamyan
Yerevan 0010, RA
+374 10 502076
Not-for-profit organization (#11-3579187). © 2005-2025 Children of Armenia Charitable Fund. All rights reserved.
