Emili Aregak Center provides therapy programs for children with a range of special needs free of charge thanks to donor support. The center is located in Gyumri and is celebrating its 10th year of operation in 2025!

Unfortunately, there is still a lot of stigma around the topic of disability in Armenia. People with different special needs are often made to feel less-than, and parents (especially mothers) are often blamed for their children’s challenges. Isolation, depression and anxiety are common feelings in families affected by disability.

In the middle of this reality, Emili Aregak exists to not only challenge the status quo and walk alongside families, but to flip the narrative on its head — that people with disabilities actually have dignity in our society and abilities that are waiting to be uncovered and cultivated. Emili Aregak is where potential blossoms alongside encouraging and professional specialists. And Emili Aregak is also where parents start to see their children in a new light!

In addition to physical and occupational therapies, speech therapy and art and music therapy, the kids (and their parents) also have access to three amazing psychologists. We all know how important it is to have someone to speak with, to give us the tools to cope, and even to see our situations through a different lens.

In honor of Emili Aregak’s 10th birthday, Ayo! is proud to help fund one year of psychological support for the families it serves.

Emili Aregak is run by Caritas Aregak Foundation, which has the broader goal of changing the status quo around the topics of inclusion of people with disabilities in Armenia. In addition to its therapy center, the foundation runs Aregak Bakery, Armenia’s only cafe to provide training and employment opportunities to young adults with special needs and also their family members. In 2025, the foundation will also open its second social business — Green Aregak — which empowers young people with disabilities to work in the green agricultural space and cultivate tomatoes!