When asked to serve as one of the directors of Youth Corps 2014, many thoughts ran through my mind. I was honored and thrilled, but at the same time, slightly intimidated by the idea of leading a group of young diasporans on a trip to our motherland to run a summer camp.

I got the roster of my group, “Group Red” as we called ourselves, and reviewed the names. Some names sounded familiar, some names I had never heard of. What was even scarier was the fact that I knew the parents of some of the participants but not the participants themselves. It seemed like a daunting task – one director, 12 counselors, and 180 kids. There were expectations to be met, responsibilities to follow through, and memories to be made. Most importantly, we needed to make an impact on the lives of children and families who were impoverished and underprivileged.

Without hesitation, I accepted the position.

Upon my arrival in Yerevan, I met the young adults who were going to serve as camp counselors for the summer. They seemed to be having a lot of fun – hanging out, laughing, and bonding. As I spent more time with them in Yerevan, before we went to Gyumri, our first Jampar location, I thought to myself, “How am I going to make sure these kids can run a day camp for 14 days?” And as we started talking and getting to know each other, I started to think on a deeper level and wondered, “Can I really lead these kids, or can these kids even be led?”

Nevertheless, we get to Gyumri and completed our first day of the Jampar.  As we got accustomed to our daily activities and schedules, I got to spend a lot more time with the group and saw them in action. I witnessed them interacting with the children, I saw them working with each other, I saw them work for Gyumri.

From the group of 12, two of them do not speak Armenian at all, but I saw them interact with the children. That proved to me that language is an obstacle that can easily be overcome if you truly want to help your homeland. I witnessed 12 complete strangers living together in one house and truly becoming friends, “ungers”, for one cause. It was truly inspirational to see the concept of “the cause is greater than our differences” in action.

As I sit back and write, I dedicate this blog to you, the group that I was supposed to lead, the group that I was supposed to teach and guide. I dedicate this blog to all 12 of you who have taught me and guided me for the past 14 days, who have  taught me never to lose faith in ourselves and never to judge a book by its cover. You have instilled my faith in all Armenians regardless of whether they can speak Armenian fluently or not, regardless if they can read Armenian or not. The passion I have seen in all of your eyes gives me hope and strength to go on and do what I do – everything for Armenia.

And for that, I am truly thankful that ALL OF YOU are my leaders.

— Saro Shirinian

I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks in Gyumri through AYF Youth Corps and the imprint that this city and its people have left on my heart is unimaginable. Although leading, organizing, and disciplining about 180 children at camp may be exhausting at times on me and my fellow counselors, it is all worth it each and every day. When I asked a few campers what their favorite food was, each and every one of them answered with porridge. I was extremely caught off guard with their replies and clarified my question, emphasizing the favorite part, because really, which American kid’s favorite food is bland porridge? But then they looked at me with a confused face, replying with the same answer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure their mothers make delicious porridge, but the fact of the matter is that their families do not have the means to eat much besides porridge, which lacks so many necessary nutrients they need in order to develop properly. We counselors have been complaining about the repetitive food at camp, craving Chipotle each and every day, but now I realize how important the yogurt, bread, juice, and hot dog we feed them every day are. The significance of giving back to Gyumri has never been so simple and evident to me.

Although we are giving to the new generation of Gyumri through this camp, the children here provide us with so much more. The warmth within each and every heart here is unexplainable. Campers who have been wearing the same pants to school every day shower us with bracelets and rings during arts and crafts. Campers who walk with us to school pick beautiful flowers from the street and pass it out to us. Campers who barely have internet connection find a way to friend request us on Facebook. Campers who are crammed into a small classroom always offer us a seat next to them. Campers who come to camp so hungry dig up a small piece of candy for us from the bottom of their pockets. Campers who have sores on their hands French-braid the girls’ hair beautifully. Campers who live in the most extreme conditions often give the warmest hugs. Campers who have not taken a single class on government have so many fresh ideas on the advancement of Armenia. Never have I ever met individuals who have so little that want to give so much.

Yes, we are providing these children with two weeks of fun, love, and friendship, but I now realize that this is not enough. The food, water bottles, t-shirts, crafts, and toothbrushes we provide them are so minuscule compared to the amount of help the Diaspora is capable of providing to the second-largest city in Armenia. If the children here are able to give us so much from the small means they come from, the Diaspora should be capable of providing them all with the brightest of futures.

— Annie Guedikian

Thirteen strangers living together in Gyumri,
But it did not turn out how I expected it to be…
Never did I know that I would love all the participants,
Who knew Youth Corps would give me such amazing new friends.
We wake up together and share fresh tonir,
We make each other sandwiches, some “hats oo banir”.
We share laughs and bonchiks as our bond grows stronger,
Each day I wish the camp could be longer.
I made thirteen new best friends, sisters and brothers,
And even some local Gyumri friends, like Haik and Alice.
As we reach the half-way mark I already want to thank Youth Corps
For giving me new friends to cherish local and abroad.

Nayiri Khatchadourian

I didn’t realize how much I missed the Armenian language until we came to Gyumri and started camp, also known as Jampar. Going from having Armenian classes every day for 8 years, to a private American high school where there were only about 5 Armenians, to Santa Clara University, where I have yet to meet a fellow Armenian, I was starting to lose touch with my roots and culture. Yes, my family and I speak Armenian at home, but it’s more of a mix, where we tend to speak more English. I was starting to miss speaking Armenian and I didn’t know how I could fix that, especially since I’m up at school for 9 out of the 12 months of the year and have no one to talk to.

When we first came to Gyumri, I knew I was going to be with kids that didn’t speak a word of English for more than 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. It was then when I realized I now have a chance to make up for all those times in school where I was unable to speak Armenian and a chance to get back in touch with my culture. I was worried at first; worried that I wouldn’t be able to communicate with the kids because it had been so long since I actually spoke Armenian, especially to people directly from Armenia, where dialect and even some words are different.

Now, however, a week into Jampar and about to start our second week, I have had no complications whatsoever in communicating with the kids. Actually, the kids have been helping me improve my Armenian. This may be extreme, but I would say that these kids pretty much saved me from forgetting my language and losing my culture. I didn’t realize how much I needed this until coming to Jampar, and I would say that this is probably the main reason why I decided to do Youth Corps — to get back in touch with my culture and not lose the Armenian in me.

Forever grateful to the Gyumri kids,

Melene Agakanian