Days before Camp Martuni began, I was nervous and anxious. It’s my first time participating in Youth Corps so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. You can say my emotions were running wild. On the first day of camp, when we met and started getting to know all of the campers, they were hyper and so excited to meet us. With over a hundred kids trying to sign up for camp, it was overwhelming and exciting all at once. In the midst of all the chaos, there was one camper that caught my attention, Ungerouhi Aida. She has the sweetest personality and a smile that can brighten up any room. I fell in love with her within the first hour of camp. During the first day of class, she was attentive and so eager to learn.  You could tell how happy she was to be able to participate in the camp.

On Thursday morning, as I walked into school, a group of kids were already there waiting for our arrival like they do every day. As I got closer, Ungerouhi Aida walked up to me and gave me a bouquet of flowers she had picked herself.  She was so excited to hand them to me. I realized that just a few days into camp, these kids were already appreciative of us.  Spending this past week with them has been such a fun learning experience and has already been life-changing.  Not only because of how great these kids are and that I have the opportunity to work with them, but also because I get to experience the kindness and generosity of the people of Martuni. I’m so happy I still have a week to spend with Ungerouhi Aida and the rest our campers at Camp Martuni.

— Christina Bastagian

It’s only been a week in Gyumri and I can’t believe our first week of Jampar is over. Here we are, approaching another hectic week of activities, games, and educationals with 200 Gyumretsi kids – and I’m so excited!

It only been a week in Gyumri and I can feel how much these kids love us; how everyday all they look forward to is seeing us, and spending time with us, and participating in the daily activities of Jampar with us. We leave our house at 9:15 am and 4 out of the 5 days this week, kids have waited at the corner of our street to walk to Jampar with us. A few have even waited past Jampar hours to walk back home with us.

It’s only been a week in Gyumri, and I am completely in love with the kids here. They’re so intelligent and active and open-hearted, and I genuinely care for these kids just as I feel they care for me.

It’s only been a week in Gyumri and we’re honestly exhausted. What we do is tiring, I’m not going to lie. We’re a group of 13 responsible for a group of 200. At the end of the day, all we want is to shower and rest. But let me tell you why it’s all worth it.

One of our Jampar activities is having the kids write about their favorite part of camp in their handmade passports. In these passports, the kids document the highlights of their Jampar experience.

It’s only been a week in Gyumri, and here is why what we do is worth the exhaustion.

This passport journal entry is by a boy named Vartan. Vartan is a quiet one. He’s so well-behaved. He’s also very smart and very eager to learn.

Here’s a translation of Vartan’s writing:

“At Jampar, what I enjoyed most, first of all, were the counselors. I really enjoy Unger Sevan and Ungeroohi Carla and a lot of others.”

It’s a small note, but it made me feel really appreciated.

This next passport entry is by a boy named Hambartsum. Hambartsum is one of the most active kids I’ve ever met. All he wants to do is play soccer and hug me.

Here’s a translation of Hambartsum’s writing:

“Today in the morning we had breakfast. And then we went to play soccer. And then we came back and had breakfast again. (I think he meant lunch.) And then we drew a lot of pictures. And then I told Carla that I love her very, very, very, very much.”

Every small action of ours has a huge effect on the kids here. What was the most surprising to me was how big an effect each action of the kids was going to have on me.

From Gyumri
with love,

Carla Kekejian

Let us begin by introducing ourselves! We’re three AYF Youth Corps participants from Houston, Texas. Our names are Vahe, Nicole, and Nyrie, or as our fellow Youth Corps members call us, TEXAS. Many people think we come from a land of horses and cows, but little do they know that there is actually a small Armenian community there. Right now we’re in Martuni, Artsakh. We just completed our first day of AYF Camp…and we are so exhausted, both physically and mentally. Most people have the impression that working at a summer camp with kids will be a very fun and uplifting experience. Not that it wasn’t fun, but reality set hard the moment we said our first words to the kids, and almost instantly they mocked us because of our different dialect.

I (Nyrie) have worked with kids for three years, and I was still shocked by the way the kids here reacted to us. I don’t say this to make what we’re doing sound bad. It was definitely a great experience and I look forward to seeing how these kids grow in these upcoming two weeks that we have with them.

I (Nicole) was very worried coming into today considering my minimal language knowledge. I was happy to see
that I was still able to bond with the kids even though we did not pass more than a few sentences back and forth. They showed appreciation, excitement and affection after the intial giggles at my lack of proper vocabulary. While it may seem like these kids have tough skin, it was very obvious that they also have good hearts.

I (Vahe) noticed that while playing steal the bacon, they were so enthusiastic to show us their running skills. It showed us that even though they have been putting on a tough front, they really are excited that we are here with them. A camper even asked a Youth Corps member if we were going to come back next year. We’re excited to continue these next two weeks of camp with these kids and to get to know them better.

— Nicole Sabbagh, Nyrie Kasparian, and Vahe Ouzounian

The last few years, there have been two things that I have really wanted to do, and this summer, I have the opportunity to do both things.

The first is participating in the Youth Corps program that is organized by the AYF and has been around as long as I have been. This year is the 20th anniversary of Youth Corps, and seeing how I am also twenty, I know that this is an important year. Twenty is the age that you are at the doorstep of manhood and you need to make big decisions. I’m glad I’m going to be part of Youth Corps’ big decisions, like having a camp in Baghanis near the border of Azerbaijan and adding extra weeks to accommodate the high demand for the camps.

The second is owning and completely wrecking a pair of Converse All-Stars. These shoes have been the symbol of coolness and the sign of the all-American kid, yet I have never owned a single pair. Last week, I decided to get a pair but did not want to pay the ridicules $50 price tag that is on them. I went to Downtown and found a couple that was selling an authentic pair for $45, which I was able to bargain down to $38. I am looking forward to taking these shoes with me to Armenia and really breaking them in and testing them out.

AYF Youth Corps and Converse All-Stars are such opposites, one being selfless volunteerism in Armenia and the other a selfish compliance to constant advertisements. Even though they are very dissimilar, they make up who I am: an Armenian-American who has very strong ties with his homeland but also adapts and lives in America.

Stay tuned for pictures, videos, and more blog posts about my time with Youth Corps and how my All-Stars are holding up.

— Puzant Berberian