26 Aug 2011

Success
David Martirosyan is one of Vanadzor CJC members. In July together with two offender girls has participated in summer camp organized by “Haykakan Chambar” (“Armenian Camp”) NGO, where they all voluntarily assisted the physically vulnerable young people.

I am in Sevan again – but this time I’m here not only to spend my free time but also to work. Two juvenile offenders – girls of 18 and 12 years old – have also joined me. As a representative of Vanadzor CJC I am fully responsible for the girls and organizing their quality time in Sevan, four days to be spent in the camp organized by the Armenian National Federation of Sports for the Children with Special Needs. It was very important that the girls establish good relations with the other camp participants and they themselves spend interesting time.
Sevan was also very different this time: it was more beautiful, more blue and clean. It was all surrounded by the trees, thick forests and almost no people around. It was more peaceful and kind of wild.

Overview
The camp schedule was quite busy, full of events and relaxing. After early wake up and breakfast we were having our aerobics listening to the fun music. In the afternoon when the water was warm enough we all were swimming and also teaching how to swim to all the kids with physical difficulties. During the day we were also busy drawing and coloring mandalas, an Indian method to improve the memory. The lunch was followed by 1-2 hour sleep after which we were participating in various games and competitions. In the evenings normally after the dinner we were playing the guitars and singing our favorite songs, getting together around the bonfire, which made our evening even more unforgettable.
As a member of CJC I was also very much interested in sharing the experience with my colleagues from Belgium, talking to him and discussing our working practice, analyzing the similarities and differences existing in our work sphere and pointing out the reasons. The contact and daily communication with Belgians was very productive for me. I paid special attention to the methods they were using while working with their two offenders.
The oldest of the girls (18 years old) is a former Vanadzor CJC offender and now she agreed to volunteer for the CJC and regularly visits the Center to assist the staff in different issues.
The youngest of the girls is from Chambarak and she is only 12 years old. It was my first contact with her as an offender and was a great experience for me. While contacting to the girl it was immediately clear that she is quite naughty and disobedient. Her age also played big role. Following my assignment and under my supervision she took the “sponsor’s” and mentor’s role. She was quite successful in it. All three of us understood our roles well enough and we were harmoniously supporting and assisting the camp participants with physical difficulties to enjoy their time at the camp.
While driving back home I was thinking about the way these girls have passed – from the offender to the volunteer. It was the first time I saw them being so serious and responsible. Now we all were in the same car driving back to the Center as volunteers and members of our communities having same goals and probably same feelings.