Tracing the history of Yeghegnut village

“It’s been 16 years, a half-life, isn’t it?” says Razmik, laughing.

We have been on the road too long of a time. So has our driver and logistician Razmik Vardanyan, a COAF veteran since day one. He is the oldest employee of our dedicated team and knows what’s what at COAF.

Razmik has a big family: 3 children and 7 grandchildren. “We’re contributing to the population growth,” he jokes. Skillful in sewing and tailoring, he worked in textile design decades ago. His ancestral home was right in the heart of Yerevan near the Republic Square. Despite being Yerevantsi, he knows the whole Armenia inside out – there is no region he hasn’t traveled to. “Every flower has its own beauty, similarly, every region, every stone of Armenia, is one of a kind,” says the big patriot.

Razmik met COAF Founder and Chairman Garo Armen when the latter first visited his homeland Armenia. Their mutual connection asked Razmik to drive Mr. Armen during the week of this stay. This is how they got acquainted, and later, he was offered a job at the newly established COAF. “At first we had 4-5 employees, now we have more than a 100,” remembers Razmik, COAF’s loyal friend, who has come a long way with our beneficiaries, employees, guests, and partners.

The earliest stages of providing help to COAF’s beneficiaries in need remain vivid in his memory. “After the war years, people were in extreme poverty. We were traveling through the villages of the Armavir region and couldn’t endure seeing the conditions our people lived in,” Razmik recalls the many times COAF’s staff members returned from the villages with tears in their eyes.

At first, people were skeptical about those who wanted to help them. They had lost their belief in everything. Gradually, our beneficiaries felt the candid values behind COAF and its people. “We learned to lend a helping hand, they learned to accept help as well,” explains Razmik.

He has so many memories of COAF. Once he and Mr. Armen traveled to the town of Shushi, Artsakh. Razmik clearly remembers how the 4-5 shoe stores of the town were emptied as Mr. Armen bought all the shoes as presents to Shushi’s kids.

The selection process of the COAF SMART territory was a remarkable one too. After driving through five different areas offered for building the center, they finally reached Debet, the village where the SMART center stands now. “Even before my car would stop, Garo got out of the car, looked at the surroundings, and said with his arms wide open – This is it!”

To him, COAF is a family, and every person involved in it is a special, a distinctive one, “Every time we go to the villages, even our beneficiaries treat us as their family members.”

We love Razmik’s morning jokes near the coffee machine. We are thankful to our oldest inhabitant for the work and attitude he has displayed during his tenure with COAF. Thousands of roads we have traveled together, and so many still lie ahead.

There is an interesting competition between the villages of Armenia. Where does the potato grow better? Whose villagers are more talented?

Lori region is the birthplace of many Armenian talents. Its 122 villages have different histories, myths, and characteristics labeled by themselves or their neighboring communities. Still, a few treasures are in common: the tranquil mountain retreat, the freshwater springs, and the Debed river, one of the biggest muses for  Armenian poet Hovhannes Tumanyan.

Debed river begins on the high grounds near Yeghegnut village and flows through long and deep hills. Yeghegnut (formerly known as Ghamshkut) was established in 1856 by a priest named Poghos. Poghos moved to Yeghegnut with a few families, built a church first, and set up several houses around it.  The villagers also take pride in the ancient cross-stones and fortress’ remains dating back to 5000 BC. Archeological findings have discovered the existence of ancient graves as well.

Though “yegheg”, the root of the village name means reed, nowadays one can hardly find reeds anywhere but the mountains. Nowadays, growing livestock is the main occupation and source of income for the inhabitants.

“COAF is our good friend,” many say in Yeghegnut, the COAF-supported village with a population of 800-900 people. Yeghegnut has one preliminary school with 64 pupils. Originally constructed for 200 students, the number of attendees has diminished as a result of the emigration. Thanks to our generous supporters, here we have established a cafeteria where kids, 1-4 grades, receive free balanced-diet based meals every day. COAF has also renovated the school bathrooms and has provided the school with furniture and sports equipment.

Thirty-two years after the Spitak earthquake, one can still notice collapsed building remains and families living in temporary trailer homes in Yeghegnut. In parallel, there is a novel spirit in the village optimistic about the future.

Villagers consider the advent of the nearby COAF SMART center as an amazing discovery for local youngsters as it allows them to identify their talents and utilize them. It is a gateway to innovation and modern professions. “I have enrolled in a variety of programs at COAF SMART: Marketing, Agrօtech, Media Literacy, Film Critic, etc. During the quarantine, I terribly miss the center and sometimes walk towards a nearby place where I can see the building,” says Liana Aghajanyan, 15, a COAF SMART Marketing student from Yeghegnut.

Maintaining the unique characteristics of each village, we have gathered youth from more than a dozen communities under one shelter. Here their differences allow them to be fascinated by each other, their similarities bring them to a common ground for growing friendships and collaborations.

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