Hye Hopes, Inc. is a nonprofit based in Burbank, California established in November of 2020, with the mission of providing critical and essential educational resources along with teacher professional development and
social emotional services for the forcibly displaced youth of Artsakh living in the Syunik region.
Hye Hopes, Inc. is pleased to announce the successful completion of its first and second sessions in Kapan, the capital of the Syunik region on March 12, 2021 and May 28, 2021 respectively. The two 8 week educational programs included over 200 students in two schools from 2nd through 11th grades. Displaced students from Hadrut, Jabrayil and Shushi arrived in Kapan throughout the
implementation of the Hye Hopes’ program and Hye Hopes was able to provide educational assistance to the displaced children.
The Hye Hopes initiative provided over 60 laptops for both students and teacher stations for schools N1 & N3 in Kapan and School N1 in Meghri. In addition to providing computers, Hye Hopes donated projectors, printers and robotic kits to support the students with remote synchronized instruction by teachers from California and throughout the United States of America.
The online classes included art, mathematics, python, coding, English, science, physics and electronics/robotics. The students were presented with certificates of completion upon the culmination of the second session. “The students showed advanced skills in subject matter and were quick to learn how to use the technology they were given,” stated Hye Hopes Vice President of Educational
and Program Affairs, Seran Krikorian. Fifth grade volunteer teacher, Ani Yeghiyan stated, “I could sense how eager they [the students] were to learn and were so excited about answering questions in class. It is an incredible experience getting to interact with and getting to know the students in Kapan and I am grateful to Hye Hopes for the opportunities I’ve had as a teacher.”
On his most recent trip to the Syunik region, Hye Hopes founder Greg Krikorian, visited over 25 schools in the cities of Kapan, Meghri, Goris and Sisian in order to provide a needs assessment and help develop strategic areas for Hye Hopes to best continue supporting the Armenian youth. “Our teachers, staff, parents and students are grateful for Hye Hopes during challenging times for Armenia. Our students were eager and excited to work on the new laptops, which for many of them is their first time working on Lenovo & HP Laptops,” stated Lusine Zarkaryan, Principal of N1 School in Kapan.
The Hye Hopes program provides training for volunteer teachers as well as teachers in Armenia in areas of remote learning such as setting up Zoom and Google Classrooms and also provides training for Mental Health and Social Emotional assistance. “The first two sessions were a great success for distance learning, social-emotional support for students, as well as staff training in Kapan. Our volunteers and teachers provided social-emotional support for students through different activities designed to foster self-awareness, resilience and other qualities necessary for healthy development and high achievement.,” stated Executive Board member Dr. Alina Vehuni. To further professional and educational development in the Syunik region, Greg Krikorian is excited to
report the collaboration with Teach for Armenia, TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, Armenian American School Psychologist Association (AASPA), CODE-3 Angels and Davidian/Mariamian Educational Foundation. Hye Hopes Inc. is looking forward to the future with great anticipation as these and future collaborations will ensure innovative opportunities and additional educational resources to the Syunik region.
If you are interested in volunteering and or if your organization is interested in collaborating with Hye Hopes please email us at info@hyehopes.org for more information.