
Hiking Treks and Trips MoP - Armenia
On May 12, 15 children from Yerevan Musical Day care Center No 13 went to the Armenian Genocide memorial complex. They were accompanied by the scout-leaders of “Yerevan” branch of the National Scout Movement of Armenia. The children bowed to the memory of 1.5 million innocent victims of Genocide at Tsitsernakaberd. They also carried out socially useful work and cleaned the surrounding territory of the Genocide Memorial.
The 18th of May became a special day for the children from Vanadzor Orphanage. They took part in a tour to Sanahin Monastery Complex and were warmly welcomed by Bishop Sepuh. He inspired the children with his message, emphasizing importance of scouting and its great value for society. The children also visited museums and had an interesting discussion with HASK scout-leaders about the meaning of the scouting symbols and flags.
18 children from Byureghavan Day care Center took part in a hiking trek on May 22. About 10 scouts from HASK Abovyan chapter had done their best to organize an exciting exploration hike during which the participants solved riddles and overcame various barriers and spent an adventurous day. The final destination point was Nurnus Church, Kotayk Region of Armenia.
On June 29, 2014, 15 children from Gavar Orphanage spent an exciting day on the shore of Lake Sevan. The trip was an excellent opportunity to use in practice the theoretical scouting knowledge gained during the weekly scout activities, seminars and jamborees in practice. Together with the scouts from HASK Armavir Chapter, the children also cleaned the territory of Hayrivank Monastery Complex. This trip was another important step on the way to a closer relationship between the children from the orphanage and HASK scouts and to their stronger integration into scouting life.
A hiking trek for the pupils of both Gyumri Social Day Care Center and Gyumri Care and Protection Center after F. Nansen was organized on July 20. 33 pupils from these institutions, as well as 7 scouts from HASK Gyumri Chapter took part in the trek. They were also accompanied by 10 young scout prospects, interested in scouting and in “Messengers of Peace” Project. The participants spent a memorable day on the territory of Harich Medival Monastery Complex. This was the second exploration trip for the children. They were more confident and familiar with the the conditions of such a scouting trip. It ended with an active discussion of the results and a picnic.
About 100 pupils of orphanages and social day care centers participated in 5 hikes during May, June and July. The trips and hikes played an important role from the standpoint of integrating the participants into scouting life. Besides, knowledge base of the participants became significantly richer and the relationship between the children and MoP volunteers- even closer.