After losing her brother in the 2020 44-day war, it was very difficult for Haykuhi Suleymanyan to regain joy, socialize and make friends. However, things began to change in 2022 when she met children who have endured the same hardships at the “Hayordi” camp.

Now at 17, Haykuhi is one of volunteers at “Hayordi”, helping to run the camp and trying to help other children regain joy.

Established by “Hayordi” Charitable Foundation, the annual “Hayordi” camp kicked off on July 28. It is held for the 5th time with the aim of uniting and supporting children from families who lost loved ones as a result of the war. This year, the camp hosts 330 children and is held in several stages.

Photo: Davit Ghahramanyan

People who have gone through the war, including wounded soldiers, the wives and sisters of fallen Armenians, are involved in the organization of the camp as volunteers and play leaders.

Haykuhi was familiar with the camp at its initial stage, when during the 2020 war, the founder of “Hayordi” Vache Vardanyan and his friends organized the first small camp in Oshakan.

“On October 1, 2020, my brother, Artur Suleymanyan, returned from the frontline to convince me to move to Yerevan from Artsakh. I was hesitant at first but he persuaded me. It was my birthday on October 24, he promised to come and ride a bike together. My brother was killed on October 23, but I learned about it a few days later,” she recalls.

Haykuhi’s family returned to Artsakh on November 27, 2020 and settled in the village of Chartar. In 2022, she joined the “Hayordi” camp. She didn’t know anyone, and it was difficult for her to socialize at first, but then she overcame her fears and made many friends.

Haykuhi Suleymanyan

Photo: Mediamax

“I was unable to join the camp in 2023 because of the blockade, which made me very sad. And in 2024, I saw the camp announcement which said it was for children under 14, and I was already 16. I wrote to my friend Vache, he said they needed volunteer assistants, so this is the second year that I have been volunteering here,” she says.

Now her family lives in Kapan, and Haykuhi has been accepted into the Kapan branch of the National Polytechnic University of Armenia.

“After the loss of my brother, I became very aggressive. My mother says I am not like myself when I don’t go to the camp, staying holed up in my room. But when I go, she says, it’s like I am dancing in front of the camera,” Haykuhi says laughing. “The children help me, too. When I see someone happy and laughing at what I am saying, I am happy too.”

Photo: Mediamax

This year, the camp is dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant Colonel Khoren Ohanyan, who died during the 44-day war.

“Khoren Ohanyan was my commander when I served in Hadrut. During the war, he led our detachment, and now we owe him our lives, he did a lot for us during the war,” says Suren Dilbaryan, who was wounded in the 44-day war and is one of the volunteers at the “Hayordi” camp.

“I was wounded on the 44th day of the war, 5 minutes after that, the positions where our commander was stationed were bombed and he was killed,” says Suren, adding that the commander’s wife and two sons have joined the camp this year.

Suren is a play leader at the camp, trying to make the children’s everyday life as interesting and happy as possible. They are all united by the same idea, everyone knows what war is, and they try to help each other.

Suren Dilbaryan

Photo: Mediamax

Besides various games and concerts, the camp offers educational courses and therapy. The team of the Frontline Therapists NGO works with the children, through which Lebanese-Armenian art therapist Mike Ayvazian has learned about the camp, and for the last two years has been volunteering at the “Hayordi” camp to help the children overcome their pain and fears.

Mike Ayvazian is an experienced therapy practitioner, working mainly in countries in conflict, including Lebanon, Syria, Armenia, and a number of Arab countries. He has also conducted classes in some European countries. He works mainly in Lebanon, where he founded the Astharté NGO. Mike came to Armenia to help because, he says, everything related to Artsakh makes his blood “boil.”

Photo: Davit Ghahramanyan

“While working at the camp, I noticed that almost all children have a problem recognizing and articulating their own emotions. They feel, but they don’t know what they are feeling. Now I try to help them understand what they are feeling and express their emotions, even negative ones, in a safe way so that they don’t feel afraid or confused if they go through the same emotions in the future,” says Mike.

According to him, the children also lack soft skills, which they are also working on. The art therapist emphasizes that it is very important to respond to all traumas, otherwise they can have physical manifestations.

“There are children who do not allow themselves to be happy, they think they are doing something wrong if they are happy. It is very sad, because they are just children,” says Mike.

Mike Ayvazian

Photo: Davit Ghahramanyan

Another common problem stems from societal attitudes and divisions.

“These kids are told that what happened is their fault, that they are not good enough. Coming from a country divided by religion, I know what societal division is, and here, the division caused by geography seems absurd to me. Generally, bad leaders divide people so that they can easily rule, while a good leader unites everyone. And that is where our strength lies, also in uniting with the diaspora, because we all have the same identity and must stand together in resistance with our “friendly” neighbors,” says Mike.

Photo: Mediamax

Mike also intends to set up a non-governmental organization in Armenia, live and work half of the year in Lebanon, and the other half in Armenia. Therefore, he is currently looking for a job in Armenia’s education sector.

Photo: Mediamax

The founder of “Hayordi” camp, Vache Vardanyan, says that many children are shy at first, but after 5 days of camp they open up, become happy and don’t want to leave.

The camp often hosts concerts, various famous artists come to visit the children, and they are also taught national songs and dances. Although it is sometimes difficult to imagine joy amidst the many losses and hardships of our homeland, in “Hayordi” they are convinced that only happy people can build a strong and resilient society ready to withstand all trials.

Gayane Yenokyan

Photos: Gayane Yenokyan, Davit Ghahramanyan/ “Hayordi” Foundation

Accounts to support the camp:

- Idram 098508909

-IDbank 11815010409901

-inecobank 2050090675597003

Recipient: Vachik Vardanyan