With the efforts of My Step Foundation and co-financing of Izmirlian Foundation gyms of two schools were renovated for the new school year

01 September, 2020
Three months ago, on 27th of May, the STEP foundation started the renovation and refurbishing of gyms and bathrooms in the secondary schools of Tandzut and Aygeshat communities within the Promoting Healthy Lifestyle in Public Schools program.

On the 1st of September, Knowledge Day, the opening ceremony of the newly renovated and refurbished gyms, locker rooms and bathrooms of the Tandzut and Aygeshat secondary schools in the Armavir Region was held. In total 470 students, 53 teachers and 3877 citizens of these two communities have been eagerly waiting this day. The Foundation’s objective is to ensure necessary conditions for having a healthy and well-rounded generation.

The attendees of this ceremony are the spouse of RA Prime Minister, Chairwomen of the Board of Trustees of the MY STEP and City of Smile Foundations Anna Hakobyan, the MY STEP Foundation’s Executive Director Hovhannes Ghazaryan, RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan, the Governor of Armavir Region Hambardzum Matevosyan, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Republic of Armenia, H.E. Mr. Jun Yamada, the Country Director of the Izmirlian Foundation Armen Chobanyan, the Marketing Manager of Football Club Pyunik Vache Manukyan, and the donors of the Foundation. The participants toured the two schools and got acquainted with the work done. The official event was followed by a game-training with the participation of the schoolchildren and the Italian coach of the Football Club Pyunik.

During the opening speech Hovhannes Ghazaryan the Foundation’s executive director noted that the environment in the schools is a driving force for the development of healthy and well-rounded individuals and citizens, “and that is why the MY STEP Foundation initiated the Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in Public Schools program. The main aim of the program is to ensure that the school children and teenagers have proper sanitary and physical education facilities which in turn will allow them to cultivate a healthy lifestyle. Yes, we are convinced that a healthy school is feasible, all our efforts are focused to achieve this goal, moreover, this is a matter of our dignity.

We are grateful to Ms. Anna Hakobyan for prioritizing this project and fully supporting it.

Today it is up to each and every one of us to decide on how many schools we can apply this model and how many schools will have a renovated gym, bathrooms and changing rooms, how many children will have the necessary environment for a healthy lifestyle. Everyone can contribute to building a healthy school. We think that this should be a movement as a result of which we should no longer have any half-ruined schools. Today’s event shows that in only three months we can establish a healthy environment, through the joint efforts of three months the future of an entire generation can be altered.

During one of our visits to the community a shop owner told us that they don’t allow her grandchild to drink tea in the morning so she doesn’t use the school’s bathroom. We should never again have such issues, the generation that will determine our future should not be brought up in such a terrible environment. The only way to change this situation is to join efforts and work together to improve the schools and its surrounding which will eventually lead to a change in behavior and perspective of the students”.

The MY STEP Foundation’s Executive Director expressed gratitude to the Izmirlian Foundation for their cooperation and co-financing of the project. “We are hopeful that our cooperation will be long term and we will have new opportunities to cooperate. We hope that the initiative taken by the Izmirlian Foundation will encourage other organizations to join the program in the future”.

The principals of the schools Hovsep Ayvazyan and Armenak Sardaryan made speeches as well.

“I stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago, however the renovation of the gym used to be a fairy tale for us. As the work progressed, I realized that we are dealing with an amazing team that are unselfishly dedicated and concerned about the school’s needs and this compassion and dedication was transferred to the construction workers. The bar was set high in regard to every aspect. I would like to sincerely thank the workers; I can just imagine how happy the children will be when they see all of this”, said Hovsep Ayvazyan, the principal of Tandzut school.

The principle of the Aygeshat school Armenak Sardaryan added: “The work done is beyond belief. The whole area is unrecognizable, and the gym got a new look and was equipped with the necessary sport equipment that the curriculum requires. The bathrooms were built from scratch, the locker rooms were separated for boys and girls and a solar water heater was installed which was a dream of mine.

May the MY STEP Foundation’s work be successful and such projects be implemented in every school so that our children can feel that they are cherished and loved everywhere.

During the design stage we would never have believed that this would be the end result, it feels very modern and nice”.

The MY STEP Foundation's Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in Public Schools program envisions to renovate and equip schools’ sanitation and sports facilities, increase capacities of "Physical Education", and "Healthy Lifestyle" teachers, implement awareness-raising campaigns aiming at behavior change related to a healthy lifestyle and hygiene issues. Beneficiaries of the project will be selected according to the program requirements through the Foundation's online tool developed for assessing healthy lifestyle conditions in schools.

The program aims to promote physical education, popularize the culture of physical activity and healthy lifestyle, decrease non-communicable (NCDs) and communicable diseases (CDs), and improve the community life. 

We are pleased to announce that new schools are already included in the program.


01 September, 2020
NEWS

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