Armenian Evangelicals
Advocates of Education and Supporters of Values
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By Melanya Geghamyan* rmenian Evangelicals have always valued and given great importance to education. Their educational priority is to teach human values and a dignified ArmenianChristian education to Armenians. The most important cornerstones of the Armenian Evangelical community in the Diaspora are the Armenian Evangelical schools and higher education institutions, founded by the Armenian Evangelical Churches and the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA). To this day, the AMAA and the Armenian Evangelical Church faithfully continue to sponsor Armenian educational institutions from kindergarten to higher education, and provide a comprehensive upbringing for the students based on the Christian faith. One of the components of the AMAA's mission is to give support and assistance in the field of education starting from KGs. The schools create a conducive environment for the primary education of children, based on modern teaching aids, for the comprehensive, harmonious development of students, and the formation of exemplary citizens guided by their universal moral values. Emphasizing that a quality early childhood education is a sound investment for communities at large, the AMAA supports four Kindergartens in Artsakh. They are the Hakob and Lydia Baghdigian KG in Stepanakert, Krikor Garabed Bilezikian KG in Shushi (until the Artsakh war in 2020), Yeprem and Zabel Basmajian KG in Askeran and Rev. Dr. Movses Janbazian KG in Martakert. The AMAA kindergartens in Artsakh, as are public education schools for pre-school children, are overseen by the Ministries of Education and local education bodies. The content of the educational work of the kindergartens is determined by the state program for the upbringing of the children. They provide physical, mental, aesthetic and work education based on the age characteristics of the children. Kindergarten lifestyles 14 | AMAA NEWS, July-Aug-Sept 2021
Upper grade students at Avedisian School.
are devoted to a variety of activities, especially didactic games, which contribute to the development of speech, hearing, counting, color skills and other skills. During the lessons the children get acquainted with the phenomena of nature and social life, learn to draw, build, sing, master basic knowledge and be ready for the next step of their educational path. In 1999, the AMAA added one more school to its list of educational institutions, the Armenian Evangelical Educational Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, named after Khoren and Shooshanig Avedisian. It quickly became an integral part of AMAA's humanitarian efforts. At the Avedisian School, children are the center of attention. Continuing the vast experience of Armenian Evangelical schools in the Middle East, the educational complex maintains and develops the best principles of the educational system established over the decades. These include the world experience of private schools not only with them, but also with school comfort conditions and additional programs. Through its programs, the Avedisian School provides students with
opportunities that are closely linked to an individual's personal, social and emotional development. Inspired by the Christian value system, Avedisian School offers a certain philosophy of life, contributing in a unique way to the health of the planet and its inhabitants. It encourages students and educators, as well as advocates of education, to reflect on personal, professional, social, environmental and universal values. The purpose of this reflection and emphasis on the search for truth is to connect faith to learning and to free the individual from limitations so that he or she can fully appreciate life, which is the expression of God's dynamic activity and love. q (Translated from Eastern Armenian by Louisa Janbazian) *Melanya Geghamyan is the Principal of Khoren and Shooshanig Avedisian School in Yerevan, Armenia.
