Mets Masrik Village, located in the Gegharkuniq region of Armenia, is populated by roughly 3,500 refugees from Azerbaijan. Inhabitants primarily rely on agriculture and cattle breeding for their livelihoods. Since work is scarce, most of the men in Mets Masrik travel to Russia on seasonal basis to work as construction workers and taxi drivers so they can earn enough to then survive year-round and feed their families and children.

Mets Masrik is home to just one day care for the town’s 250 children, most of who are between the ages of two and five. Although it is mostly renovated the day care operates for a mere six months each year. The windows and doors are too old to keep out the region’s bitter winter cold, thus forcing children to remain at home during the late fall and winter months—the toughest months for their families to survive.

At Ayo! we are excited to raise funds that will bring warmth and joy to the families of Mets Masrik. With your support, the day care will receive new windows and doors that will keep the cold out and make it possible for the children to stay inside without risking their health and well-being, and will ultimately enable them to attend day care year-round. By enabling the day care to be fully operational, these children will be able to benefit from a consistent and safe learning environment, which will contribute to their overall cognitive and social development, and start them on a solid educational path.

Ensuring the children have a safe place to play will also provide benefit to their families overall. Instead of staying home with their children all day when the day care is closed, villagers will have more time to spend on their work, like cattle breeding during the fall and winter months. This will potentially increase household income levels, and bring overall benefit to the village and the community