The “With You” charitable organisation accomplished their goal of “ensuring the socio-economic stability of displaced youth with disabilities under Covid-19 through the provision of IT professional knowledge” project as part of the European Union-funded and People in Need-implemented “EU COVID-19 Solidarity Programme for the Eastern Partnership” regional programme.
90 representatives from the vulnerable groups affected by Covid-19 (including sufferers from the Nagorno-Karabakh war, displaced young people, children with hearing impairments and family members of those with hearing impairments) participated in the IT trainings conducted in the Yerevan Educational Complex for Children with Hearing Disorders state non-profit organization to gain knowledge and skills on 3D modeling, computer literacy and HTML programming.
The trainings were conducted in three rounds with three parallel groups (10 participants each) over a three-month period. In total, 90 beneficiaries took part in the project, 30 of whom participated in 3D modelling, 30 in computer literacy and 30 in HTML programming classes. Fifteen of those participants from more distant regions were provided with food and overnight accommodation.
Three of the beneficiaries already work in the field of IT, and 45 beneficiaries are continuing their education in the field. Nine of best students from the project (one student in each group) were awarded laptops.
In order to ensure the sustainability of the project, a request was submitted to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport for further financial support. If the request is accepted, additional funds will be invested in the educational complex for the continuation of the project.
Lusine Babayan, the director of the Yerevan Educational Complex for Children with Hearing Disorders highly appreciates the multidimensional cooperation acquired within the scope of the project. It has given the the school the opportunity to provide targeted and timely assistance to the vulnerable groups affected by Covid-19 and to put an emphasis on sustainability to promote the continuation of support.
The closing event of the project took place on April 13th at the Yerevan Educational Complex for Children with Hearing Disorders with the participation of People in Need and MESCS, the students of the short-term program, IT companies and staff of the educational complex. The students of the training presented their work and expressed their impressions. The organisers also received feedback from the participants about how best to improve the training moving forward.
