MISSION #15
Last Sunday, All for Armenia visited Gyumri and Artik in the Shirak region of Armenia to deliver aid, gifts, and a concert to refugees of Artsakh and families impacted by the 2020 Artsakh War. Our event was something much greater than just delivering aid. We all got to enjoy traditional Armenian music together, collectively experiencing the healing and therapeutic powers of our art and culture.
We were honored to have such incredible musicians collaborate with us. Huge shout-out to the Hamlet Muradyan band (consisting of a tar, accordion, duduk, and dhol) and Erik Hovhannisyan, kamancha player!
Each event launched with the concert, which completely changed the energies of the spaces we were in. Our team member Marine then presented the gifts to the children, which included educational coloring books donated to us by Therapists for Armenia.
Before heading to Artik, we stopped at an orphanage in Gyumri and had an event there as well. The kids were the smartest we had seen. As it was our first time there, we did not take any photos or videos out of respect. We look forward to our collaboration growing, and sharing more with you all in the future.
There were many special moments throughout the day… During our event in Artik, at a center for children with disabilities acting as a shelter for refugees, a girl spontaneously got up and started dancing during Erik’s kamancha performance. It was so moving, and a powerful reminder of why we do what we do.
If any of this moved you as it did us, please consider supporting our efforts, and helping us continue to do this critical work. As our organization grows, we are honored to bring not only aid to impacted communities, but also to spread joy through Armenian culture.