[Yerevan, early in the morning]

-Guys, speed up, drink your coffee, we gonna be late
-Can I work while you guys are driving?
-Yes. Should we leave already? Let’s go
-Let’s get this started

So we took a trip to Hatis.

Why?

On December 2, 2021, EasyPay LLC decided to join Teach for Armenia’s Nation Builders program. The program aims to provide support for schools in rural communities across Armenia and Artsakh. Members of the Nation-Builders program support schools by providing financial support for a Teach For Armenia Teacher-Leader, a student-led Community Innovation Project, and technology. The main goal is to provide equal educational opportunities for all children in Armenia and Artsakh.

On March 7, 2022, EasyPay LLC together with the Teach for Armenia Foundation decided to visit the village of Hatis to get acquainted with V. Vardanyan secondary school and students. During our visit, we held quick interviews with 2 of the schools' students, as well as got acquainted with the school’s principal Adelaida Yepremyan.

We are in Hatis

To say our first meeting was filled with warm greetings and excitement is to say nothing.

In a quick interview with the school principal Adelaida Yepremyan, we found that the school dates back to the 1930s and Adelaida Yepremyan was once an alumnus of the school. At this point, the school has 47 students and 13 of them are from Zovashen. In Hatis, spring arrives a bit later, thus the school bell was not for the children. The corridors were too cold, so they preferred to stay in the classrooms.

“Listen, I genuinely love Hatis, but sometimes Hatis can be confusing. I mean look, the weather outside is cold and it’s snowing. So you can never prove that it’s spring.”

_{Milena (student of V. Vardanyan secondary school)}

Milena lives in Hatis, enjoys painting and math classes, and is not into talking too much, or at least we felt that way.

"I think the village lacks some green area. We would gather, read a book, and then discuss it. We have everything else, we also have a playground. Now I'm reading Harry Potter and I guess It would be nice to discuss it with the rest of the class. "

According to Milena, it’s difficult to choose between her 2 passions ( mathematics and art). So to avoid it, she decided to choose 2 professions. In the end, who said you can’t do both?

After our conversation with Milena, we wanted to go back to the classroom, and as soon as we opened the door, Hakob ran out, very energetic and almost out of breath. It was at that moment we realized we needed to talk to him.

Hakob told us that he wanted to see the planets and that geology was his favorite subject.

-You know how this is. Sometimes I want to travel and see the planets, but sometimes I don't have time for that, as I go to a boxing club. I want to become a boxing champion, and maybe when I become one, they will give me a winning prize, like 30.000$.

-What are you going to do with that kind of money?- we asked

-Well, I will give half of the money to my family and the other half I will use to buy cars. Actually 10 of them, so that I would drive each one for every day,-Hakob replies.

Marine Manjikyan was the class teacher who was kind enough to show us around the school. She also shared their plans of making the schoolyard a better place for the kids to gather and host outdoor classes. She said that they were very excited by the news of the school getting financial assistance from the program, as finally, the school would build the very much expected green space.

“Now we are waiting for the weather to get a little warmer, and we are planning to plant some trees and flowers. We want to create a green area with bushes, flowers, lights, and a blackboard. We will hold open lessons and discussions. We will start planting the trees in mid-April when the weather is warmer”.

Eventually, we would like to say that it was an unforgettable trip, and we are very excited that our partnership with Teach for Armenia is ongoing. So we definitely will find ways to return to Hatis. As they say, the best is yet to come.