The AECP
Goes To School
While eyes and vision rank among the most important health issues in children, most children in Armenia begin school without an eye exam.  So many of these “simple,” preventative measures—that we take for granted in the U.S.—are almost unheard of in Armenia.

Adopting a school in Armenia to provide eye screenings and education is one of the most important things our donors are doing for the country and for each individual child and their families.  With approx 500,000 children in Armenian schools, the AECP Child Blindness Initiative can help Armenia achieve its goal—to achieve full coverage of school age children through eye screenings to detect refractive errors and to provide prescription eyeglasses for those in need within five years. 

Vision screening, aimed at detecting eye disorders in children early, is the strongest method available for ensuring the long-term health and well-being of children. Responding to the increasing number of eye diseases in Armenia, the Ministry of Health developed a Strategic Plan for Blindness Prevention to “eliminate avoidable blindness and severe visual impairments in Armenia before the year 2020.” 

The parents, school officials and children are all very grateful to Harry Bagramian.  Thanks to Harry’s generous donation, on April 11, 2006, the nearly 500 children who study at the local school, among the poorest places in the village (children don’t even have a water closet), received eye examinations and participated in an education program to learn how to care for their eyes. 

Were it not for Harry Bagramian and the Adopt-a-School Program, the children would never have had an eye examination. The village of Jrarat, which means “plenty of water,” is located in the Armavir marz. Once a busy industrial village, Jrarat now faces many problems and is one of the poorest areas of the country.  Factories that were at full capacity are at a standstill and the primary source of employment is now agriculture. 

Dr. Yelena Matevosyan, a member of the eye screening team, said, “Thanks God, the main problems were refraction and can be solved with a pair of glasses—though not easy for these families. We did, however, identify two brothers with very low vision. They will both require specialized care in Yerevan.

The lesson about eye care and anatomy interested some of the children so much that it piqued their interest in becoming physicians. “I think ophthalmologists are the most important doctors,” said 7th  grader Varduhi Simonyan.  She added, “I would want to be a knowledgeable and skilled doctor to help people regain their vision.”

The deputy principal of the school, Ms. Gohar Mnatsakanyan, expressed her appreciation. She underscored the importance of the screening for the village and the schoolchildren saying, “Parents are usually not aware that their children have an eye problem. And, even if they do know, they very often they do not realize the importance of a follow-up and do not take any action.  Now, thanks to Harry Bagramian, we know about most of the problems that our children have and will be persistent in making sure they take care of their eyes.”

School No. 3, Yeghegnadzor
Adopted by Armen and Pauline Barooshian

School No. 3, Yeghegnadzor, adopted by Armen and Pauline Barooshian in memory of Pauline's mother, Zabelle Bilezikian, has 450 pupils. They also adopted a number of other schools in the Armavir, Vayots Dzor, Ararat and Syunik marzes honoring Zabelle.  The AECP team screened more than 350 children, out of whom 50, or 14 percent, will need glasses. 

Ms. Karine Haroutyunyan, principal of School No. 3, was touched and surprised that her school was adopted.  “Your visit is very important to us. There were indications that many of our schoolchildren have eye problems, but a medical examination is the only way we can get accurate diagnoses and the information necessary for required follow-up. Second, charity is a wonderful lesson for our schoolchildren. They see first-hand the importance of giving and caring for others less fortunate. I am very happy our school was given this opportunity by Zabel Belizekian’s relatives.”

Following the lesson, sixth-grader, Artyom Hambardzumyan, said “I am going to tell all my friends and relatives about eye care and safety—if people have poor vision, they do not see the full beauty of life.  And in many cases, it would have been possible to avoid those vision problems or correct them.”

Roger Ohanesian was in Armenia for the screening at School No. 3, giving the children an opportunity to ask him questions.  He talked about the importance of wearing eyeglasses (the stigma of wearing eyeglasses is significant among the population) to see the beauty of the world as it is.   The girls—they wanted to know if it is safe to wear make-up and color contact lenses!

For the second year in a row, Mariam Samoniantz’s 9th grade homeroom class at Mesrobian School emptied spare change from pockets, purses, and wallets into a large jar each day for three months to provide eye screenings and eye heath education for their peers around the globe at Yerevan School No. 105.  "I felt good knowing that my small change benefited another Armenian in a significant way," said 9th grader Nora Gourdikian.  The news of their good deed spread around the school and students from all of the grades began to participate—eventually bringing the total to $1,500.  “My 9th grade class wanted to help their brothers and sisters in Armenia,” remarked Samoniantz.  “We choose the Armenian EyeCare Project because the gift of sight is the most precious gift of all.”

The AECP medical team screened 320 students and found that 35 children had existing eye problems.   The students with eye problems will receive follow-up treatment, which can include an extended eye examination, surgery, medications, and/or eyeglasses.   These services will be provided at no cost to their families.  

In addition to the screenings, the younger students were treated to an interactive educational puppet show featuring Doctor Tesunik and highlighting the importance of eye care.  Third grader Silva Yemenyan liked the puppet show very much.  “Doctor Tesunik told us how to keep our eyes healthy and now I want to have healthy eyes,” she said.  The older students learned about the anatomy of the eye and created colorful eye models—one of which will be sent to their friends at Mesrobian School as a gesture of appreciation.

Bella Sukiasyan, Schoolmaster of No. 105, was “impressed and touched” that the Mesrobian students gave their lunch money to help others in need.  She said her students became more attentive to eye care following the visit.  And, more important, “they were given an example of compassion and are ready to exercise it themselves—the 7th grade class at Yerevan No. 105 decided they will gather money to support eye screenings for orphans and the elderly in their community.”