The village of Darbnik in Armenia’s central Ararat province, a site of refuge to Armenians that fled Azerbaijan and Iraq now has a daycare center for children. The locals say it comes as a great relief for parents and also provides a few additional jobs for villagers.

The center has been established within the framework of the Acculturation Through Learning Program-2, which was implemented by the Save the Children and Mission Armenia NGOs with funding from the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

According to those in charge of the program and the head of the Darbnik village, this center for children has special importance for the village, as in conditions of the absence of a kindergarten it would offer unique opportunities for children to get education and care corresponding to their age. A total of $17,000 had been allocated from the US Department of State and 1.7 million drams (some $5,000) from the Darbnik village administration for the establishment of the children’s center.

Darbnik (some eight kilometers southwest of Yerevan) is a village of only 1,130, but more than 90 percent are refugees. In Soviet times the village was populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis, who left Armenia in November 1988, leaving their village to Armenians who fled Azerbaijan. Now the village has 315 households, of which 26 belong to Armenian refugees from Iraq who set up their residence in the village in April 2009.

Twenty-six children are already registered with the daycare center, which opened its doors on Wednesday morning. The center is meant for 40 children. It will work in two shifts – the first from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and the second from 1-5 p.m. The center has four employees, who are locals. It is comfortably located on the first floor of a four-storied hostel. Armenians who fled Azerbaijan in 1988-1990 live on the other three floors.

Save the Children NGO country director Irina Saghoyan says that residents of the village had also participated in the repairs of the center and were paid for their work.

“For now children won’t get meals here, but in the future we will provide kitchen furniture and will begin work with the Ministry of Education and Science so that the daycare center will be turned into a kindergarten. The community is very willing in this matter. We will now cover the expenses until the center gets state funding,” says Saghoyan.

At the center, meanwhile, children already play with new toys, without even paying attention to their senior guests.

“I’m very glad that the center has opened. My child will get care while I’ll have some spare time for myself,” says Armine Khachatryan, a 26-year-old Darbnik resident, who has a three-year-old daughter.

And Anahit Petrosyan, who worked as a telephone operator in Iraq, says that she is very happy to get a job at the center. “I love working with children,” she says.