Annual report 2014 2015 English

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“Nor Luyce” Mentoring Center for Youth

2014-2015 Gyumri

Nor Luyce believes that teenage girls from orphanages and low income families can be self-sufficient and successful young women.

Nor Luyce is the first mentoring organization in Gyumri, Armenia, that aims to provide the teenage girls from orphanages and low income families with a one on one mentoring relationship, with skill building trainings and with scholarships to pursue a degree, be compatible with their peers and be able to live self-sufficiently.

“Many things can wait, the child cannot. Now is the time his bones are being formed, his mind is being developed. To him, we cannot say tomorrow; his name is today.�

Gabriella Mistral

Nor Luyce Model Nor Luyce program consists of three phases: ď ś ď ś ď ś

Mentoring relationship Skill Building Higher education

1. Mentoring Phase- Every week for 10 months, mentees

(aged 13-14) will meet with their mentor to discuss certain difficulties as well as accomplishments in their life. They meet 3 Sundays a month to discuss various topics such as self-esteem, confidence, determination, etc. They also participate in one whole group meeting with participants from all stages as well as mentors surrounding various topics such as secrets to success, human rights, and holiday celebrations.

2. Skill-Building Phase- Particpants who have completed the mentoring phase move onto this stage (now 14-15 years old), where they meet 3 times a month for ten months to discuss pratical skills such as resume writing, job applications, interview skills, etc.

They also participate in the monthly whole group meetings as well as organizing their own trainings for current, phase-1 mentees.

3. Scholarship Phase- Participants who have completed phase 1 and 2 and are ready to enter a college or university, who apply to our financial sponsorship program, receive funds for schooling and school supplies. Participants also take part in monthly trainings on topics related to financial independence.

Vision achieved- Teenage girls from orphanages and lowincome families are now selfsufficient and successful young women.

Mentoring Phase Nor Luyce started the 2014-2015 program with 11 new mentor-mentee pairs. During these 10 months we held 364 individual meetings; an average of 36 meetings per month, were realized. During the individual meetings, mentors and mentees worked together to establish short-term and long-term goals, to develop problem solving abilities of the mentee, and to support the mentee in staying away from negative behaviors such as gang involvement, early sexual behaviors and drug use.

In 1 year the number of mentees increased from 6 to 11, a 54.5% change.

In one year the number of mentoring individual meetings rose from 125 to 364, a 291% increase.

79% of the Phase 1 mentees could reveal their own personalities, such as their strong and weak traits.

51% of the mentees were motivated to make changes in their behavior or life due to the group meetings.

63.3% of mentees created their life map, which provides them with an opportunity to have clear vision and goals.

66.6% of the mentees realized their life goals and the rest are still working towards realizing their goals.

Skill Building phase The overall goal of the Skill Building Phase is to provide the mentees with an opportunity to gain a lot of skills, such as: computer skills, PowerPoint skills, CV & cover letter writing skills, application skills, Communication skills, Interview skills, etc., which empowers the mentees to be marketable, prepare their career plans and learn the steps to success.

During this Phase, 100% of the mentees saw 20% changes in their knowledge after the group meetings.

100% of the Phase 2 mentees prepared and presented to PowerPoint presentations to other mentees on a topic of their choice.

67% of the mentees realized their career plans and the rest are still working towards realizing their career goals.

100% of the Phase 2 mentees learnt time management, how to complete paperwork, communication and interview skills, etc.

Scholarship Phase In 2014-2015 Nor Luyce started the Scholarship Phase with 9 mentees.

98% of the Phase 3 mentees gained new knowledge and skills, such as budgeting, Computer skills, student loans, etc.

86% of Phase 3 mentees said they would be able to use their skills and gained knowledge in the future.

During this one year 7 mentees entered a university and the number of the mentees studying in colleges and universities became 10. This year 1 mentee out of 10 graduated from a college and Nor Luyce found a job for her within her trade.

The number of mentees studying in colleges and universities rose 1.5 times.

As of now 29% of 31 mentees study in a college or in a university

In 2014-2015 Nor Luyce provided two mentees with scholarships Arevik

Mariam Israyelyan

Kocharyan

European Educational

Nursing College

Regional College

“Pharmacology”

“Accounting”

This year 4 mentees graduated from high school and all of them were admitted to universities and colleges. As always, Nor Luyce will be next to them and provide them with scholarships and other financial help.

Ruzanna Hakobyan Gyumri Pedagogical Naira State University Hamazaspyan “Methodology” Shirak Regional College “Social Work”

Anna Unusyan Gyumri Economical State University “Finance and loans”

Lusine Drmoyan Polytechnic University “Entrepreneurship & Finance”

Overall Group Meetings 2014-2015 The main goal of the overall group meetings are to provide the mentees from different institutions with a space where they can meet with all the other mentees from different parts of the city, where they can have a safe space to learn new things, have fun and enjoy their time.

Due to overall group meetings the mentees celebrated Women’s international day, Christmas, met with a wellknown artist, Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, learned about different keys to success, and played soccer with a girlssoccer team, who were also champions.

84% of the mentees gained new knowledge from overall group meetings 97% of the mentees find the overall group meetings to be interesting 57.7% of mentees claim that the overall group meetings helped them to change their approach to the surrounding world.

Training of the new mentors and the staff In April-May 2015, Nor Luyce started a new mentoring training for 22 new volunteers but only 10 of them had a chance to become a mentor by the end of the training. These 10 new mentors organized special group meetings for mentees to break the ice and get to know each other well.

Besides the mentoring trainings our mentors took part in trainings like gender equality and Project Design and Management trainings organized by Peace Corps.

Along with the mentor trainings, Nor Luyce staff also took part in different trainings, such as PR strategic planning, coaching, psychological traits of teenagers, motivation incentives of the teenagers, etc.

According to all trainees the trainings were enjoyable for 100%.

All the trainees considered the learnt mentoring methodologies useful for 96%.

72.5% of the trainees were satisfied with the trainings.

Nor Luyce Mentees took part in GLOW camp Nor Luyce NGO with the cooperation of YIC NGO and Peace Corps, started GLOW summer camp for 25 girls. Both our mentees and mentors took part in the camp as participants and counselors.

36% of the GLOW participants were Nor Luyce mentees 33.3% of the GLOW counselors were Nor Luyce mentees and Mentors.

“Successful teenagers in our community” With the cooperation of The Sakharov Human Rights Defender’s Center, Nor Luyce started a 6 day long camp entitled, “Successful teenagers in our community“. The overall goal of the camp was to support the improvement of the personal traits of the teenage girls from orphanages and low income families. In September-October, during 6 Sundays, we realized the following meetings:     

Values and principles Self-esteem Self-confidence and motivation Aggression and tolerance Negotiation skills, rhetorical speech & time Management

100% of the participants gained new knowledge from the camp.

According to the campers the camp was successful for 95%.

Nor Luyce is 5 years old On June 7 “Nor Luyce” Mentoring Center for Youth NGO celebrated its 5th anniversary. Among the guests were directors of orphanages and schools, NGOs, local government offices, mentees, mentors and their relatives.

The participants viewed a “5 years in 5 minutes” video about the activities of Nor Luyce. You can view the video here.

Then the Executive Director, Shoghik Mikayelyan, expressed her gratitude to the 8 institutions with which Nor Luyce cooperates and presented them with thank you certificates: 1. Seyran Martirosyan – The A.D. Sakharov Human Rights Defenders Center 2. Karine Sahakyan – Psychology department Dean at Gyumri Branch Pedagogical State University 3. Amalya Adamyan – Director of the Gyumri employment Center 4. Anahit Karapetyan – Director of F. Nansen Boarding School 5. Sonya Simonyan – Director of Terchoonyan home orphanage 6. Karen Stepanyan – Director of School #30 7. Gayane Bichakhchyan – Director of School # 29 8. Aram Avetisya, Artyom Hakobyan – Horizon Studio directors Nor Luyce appreciates all types of work, especially volunteer work. Nor Luyce NGO handed out 7 certificates to the mentors who worked with mentees in 2014-2015. Two of these mentors: Lilit Shahnazaryan and Larisa Jamakochyan were nominated as the best mentors of the year due to their educational hard work and fun experiences they provided to mentees.

The mentees prepared musical performances.

The congratulations continued with a glass of wine at a banquet.

Nor Luyce at Psycamp On August 1st Nor Luyce NGO took part in a two day Psycamp event in Gyumri. Nor Luyce was the first organization to start the presentation with “Do we need a mentor?� Nor Luyce presented who a mentor is, what problems teenagers face, the principles the mentors work through, and what kind of work the mentors did and as a result what kind of changes have been achieved. At the end of the camp the participants chose the most important points and they themselves came to the conclusion that yes, the teenagers need mentors.

Nor Luyce took part in Armenia Expo in Los Angeles On February 28, Nor Luyce NGO volunteer Alena Sarkissian presented Nor Luyce activities in an Volunteer Armenia Expo organized by the Armenian Cultural Foundation in Los Angeles.

Thank you, Alen, for supporting us.

Nor Luyce took part in Shirak - Artsakh Expo In Artsakh there was an Expo, in which the NGOs of Shirak region and Arkhats took part. At the expo Nor Luyce was presented by mentor Lena Ghazaryan. At the expo Lena presented the mission and vision of Nor Luyce, its activities, success stories and the future plans. At the event the participants also met with the Artsakh head of cultural Ministry, parliament members and with representatives of local organizations.

International Youth Day Expo in Gyumri On August 12 a series of events were organized in Gyumri that were dedicated to International Youth Day. There was also an Expo of different NGOs. 15 NGOs, as well as Nor Luyce Mentoring Center for Youth NGO took part in that expo.

We cooperate with the following organizations and individualities: 1. Fridtjof Nansen boarding school 2. Terchoonayn Home orphanage 3. Gyumri social childcare center 4. School#30 5. School #29 6. School #45 7. Peace Corps 8. Birthright Armenia Foundation 9. The A.D. Sakharov Human Rights Center 10. GLOW camp 11. Gyumri Employment Center director A. Adamyan 12. Professors of Gyumri Branch of Pedagogical State University 13. Medical College professors 14. Artists of the Drama State theatre

Sponsor+Donor list Ara Chackerian Paros Foundation The A.D. Sakharov Human Rights Center Globalgiving

 Ani Avetisyan

Board Members Richard Chackerian, President Ara Chackerian Peter Abajian Nora Kayserian Amie Park Wilson

 Ani Khachatryan  Lilit Shahnazaryan  Almira Nikoghosyan  Shushan Yeraosyan  Hasmik Stepanyan  Larisa Jamakochyan  Lilit Avetisyan  Lena Ghazaryan

Staff

 Lena Harutyunyan  Aida Hovhannisyan

Shoghik Mikayelyan

 Laura Hakobyan

Executive Director

 Roza Sargsyan

Tamara Mkrtchyan

Individual Meeting Coordinator

 Asya Kara-Gevorgyan  Liana Nikolyan  Armine Hovhannisyan

Armenuhi Kojibroyan

 Kristine Petrosyan

Group Meeting Coordinator

 Arpenik Hambaryan  Lida Ayvazyan

Gohar Hovhannisyan

Data Evaluation and social media coordinator

Birthright Armenia volunteers Nanor Aghamal Kira Ambruster Nina Roma Avagian Alena Sarkissian

Mentors  Lilit Shahnazaryan  Almira Nikoghosyan  Shushan Yeraosyan  Hasmik Stepanyan  Larisa Jamakochyan

Peace Corps volunteers

 Lilit Avetisyan

Victoria Dokhen

 Armenuhi Kojibroyan

 Lena Ghazaryan  Gohar Hovhannisyan

Volunteers  Sona Harutyunyan

 Shoghik Mikayelyan  Tamara Mkrtchyan

Mentees  Aslanyan Srbuhi  Aslanyan Kristine  Hakobyan Ruzanna  Termenjyan Arpine

Address Ghorghanyan #238 Gyumri, Armneia 3105

 Unusyan Anna

+374 55017219

 Unusyan Liana

Wed site: www.norluyce.com

 Kocharyan Arevik  Kocharyan Lusine

Email:

 Hamazaspyan Naira

Facebook:

 Hamazaspyan Lusine  Mkrtchyan Seda  Israyelyan Mariam  Nersisyan Ani  Galoyan Gohar  Nahapetyan Hasmik  Yepremyan Lusine  Drmoyan Lusine  Vardanyan Ruzanna  Gabrielyan Lia  Mkrtchyan Flora  Chteyan Hasmik  Nikoghosyan Anna  Akobyan Natali  Miasaryan Eliza  Khachatryan Galya  Baloyan Lilit  Kotanjyan Alina  Harutyunyan Anahit  Papikyan Lida  Minasyan Julieta  Minasyan Violeta  Asatryan Veronika  Chalikyan Margarit  Mkhitaryan Roza

nluyce@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/norluyce/timeline