This year the No. 1 school of Chambarak community in Armenian’s Gegharkunik province again welcomed its first graders with ill-equipped classrooms and dilapidated walls, doors and windows - the traces of the Artsakh War.

This community, which is located in about 5 km distance from the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, hasn’t been restored since the Asrtakh War, something that Armenian News – NEWS.am cameral also fixed. The school is constantly outside the agenda of relevant authorities. Instead, the German Embassy in Armenia has taken interest in it, the cooperation with the embassy already yielding good results.

The students of far Chambarak have been provided an opportunity to attend several week language courses and improve their knowledge in Germany and neighboring Georgia via the Goethe Institute programs. The unsightly walls of the school are decorated with the posters telling about the success achieved as a result of that cooperation, which is perhaps the source of inspiration for the small residents of the community.  

“Our school hasn’t been renovated since the Artaskh War. Our equipment is rather old; the school isn’t provided with laboratory equipment which would be in line with modern requirements,” says the deputy head teacher Emma Torosyan, who is also a German teacher.  

According to her, the parents and children living so close to the border are heroes and deserve schools like those in the capital.

Lyova Sargsyan, who has been the school head teacher for 25 years, assures that money has been allocated for the school renovation: they are simply waiting for their turn which will come in 2 years. For Sargsyan, building of a cannonproof shelter in the school is a priority issue.

“During the first war, 19 shells fell in the territory of the school, two of which fell directly on the school. It was evening. Fortunately, the children were not at school,” he recalls.

Despite the many issues of the community, our interlocutor was pleased to note that the number of the schoolchildren does not reduce. They had 60 first graders this year.