Doesn’t matter where you live – you deserve a happy childhood

Members of the EU4Youth SKYE club in the Alaverdi region of Armenia have inaugurated a children’s playground in the village of Tsaghkashat, part of a community service-learning project to raise awareness among the community and local authorities about the absence of playgrounds for children in remote villages.

Being aware of the problem, the young members of the club decided to address it in their own way. And while there are many such villages in Alaverdi, they chose the village of Tsaghkashat. SKYE members launched a fundraising campaign, and as a result, the local authorities and World Vision (with financial assistance from the EU) supported the project and the playground was established.

During the opening ceremony, 17 young SKYE members also organised games for children, dressed-up as famous cartoon heroes. SKYE members were so encouraged by the children and their parents’ reaction that they decided to continue working to raise awareness on the problem and trying to make children happier. 

The Alaverdi SKYE club, along with six other clubs in Stepanavan, Ararat and Gavar, was established in September 2018 within the EU-funded ‘EU4Youth – SAY YES Skills for Jobs’ project, implemented by World Vision Armenia. The Skills and Knowledge for Youth Economic Empowerment (SKYE) Club model is an integrated approach to supporting disadvantaged youth to develop the skills, behaviours, and attitudes necessary to obtain sustainable livelihoods and participate constructively in their communities.  SKYE Clubs are groups of young people who meet each week to undergo a learning process and identify community problems, brainstorm, plan and implement community service and social enterprise projects.