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

I am currently sitting in Digin Lilig’s living room with a few of my fellow Youth Corps participants and I am questioning how I ended up here. Just over a week ago, I was in Los Angeles and now I am sitting in a host family’s house in the middle of Gyumri with 13 other participants who are slowly becoming family. I attended AYF Camp as a camper multiple times, but I never returned when I was old enough to be a counselor. Now, I can’t believe I am in Gyumri, the night of my first day as AYF Youth Corps Jampar counselor, trying to put to words this truly life-changing experience.

I was told that Youth Corps’ agenda would be very similar to AYF Camp’s, so what I was expecting here was not much different. Once we left Yerevan and entered Gyumri after a week of sight-seeing and touring, the reality finally hit me; I was not in a city anymore. Gyumri literally looks like a place uncovered in a documentary: a city-state filled with destroyed buildings, half-finished homes, and rocky dirt roads.

Today, as our group walked through the streets of Gyumri towards “Tbrots 10”, we found our way by getting directions from the locals on the street. Once we got there, I was overfilled with emotions; it was truly an incredible feeling walking into the school’s yard and seeing dozens of children lined up at the door to enter Jampar, an hour before it actually started. The entire experience really made my heart melt. Just through that moment alone, I knew that I was in Hayastan for a purpose: to work with and for these kids who have honestly been waiting all year to participate in our Jampar. I’ll never forget the smiles on the children’s faces when we gave them Jampar T-shirts, water bottles, and wrist bands, something that is so common and simple for us to have. It really made me realize how little these children actually have, and how everything we give to them and every second we spend with them has immense value and a great impact on them.

I am not going to lie, I am not a person who gets emotional quickly, but this was truly something else.  The experience of walking into Gyumri’s “Tbrots 10” and spending the entire day with 130 Gyumretsi kids of various ages will forever be inscribed in my memory. I cannot wait to spend the rest of the week with all the great kids I met today, and I cannot wait to meet all the kids during the coming weeks of Jampar. This entire experience made me realize that if the first day of Jampar this was exciting, heartfelt, and satisfying,  then every day that follows is going to be so much more!

— Sevag Guedikian