Brussels, 16 November 2020
War refugees attending Aregnazan
School in Yerevan need help
Upon the initiative of ECSWE, donations in support of the refugee children from Nagorno-Karabakh can be made to the Friends of Waldorf Education.
Dear Friends of the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education,
Worrying news has reached us from our member school in Yerevan, Armenia– ECSWE representatives visited them on the 24th April 2015, and attended a congress on the occasion of the 100th Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.
In late September this year, the long-lasting conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region escalated from regular border clashes to full scale war. Many of the families in the school were severely affected by these developments as former students, teachers and parents were fighting in the war. One of the former students — 19 years old Alen Vardanyan — was killed.
As many towns and villages in the contested region were attacked, and schools and kindergartens were destroyed, more than 90.000 mothers and children currently seek refuge in neighbouring Armenia. Despite the severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on its already thin-stretched budget, the Aregnazan Waldorf school in Yerevan has opened its doors to refugee children, welcoming at least 2–4 of them in every class.
Many of the arriving families are dealing with severe psychological consequences resulting from war trauma and some are mourning the losses of fathers and older brothers. The school has now called on the European Waldorf community for financial and moral support to provide affected children and families with desperately needed care.
If you want to support the school in helping families in need, donations can be made to the Friends of Waldorf Education using the payment reference „Aregnazan WS Eriwan“
Freunde der Erziehungskunst, GLS Bank Bochum, Account No: DE47 4306 0967 0013 0420 10 (BIC: GENODEM1GLS).
A question? Please don’t hesitate to contact us!
