Finding Work is Job One

It was due to AGBU LEAP that I can now apply these new techniques and help children with special needs. I am excited that, after so many hardships, I have the opportunity to keep working in the profession I love.

Written for AGBU Impact Magazine 2024 by Lusine Minasyan. Photos by Ruben Otyan. 

Last September, when Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing campaign against the Armenians of Artsakh was fully implemented, the victims were robbed of more than their ancient lands, ancestral homes, and worldly possessions. They were stripped of the dignity of work. After crossing the border to Armenia for safety, they quickly realized that the pathway into Armenia’s job market would be an uphill journey.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before AGBU was able to relaunch its highly successful LEAP (Learn to Earn Artsakh Program) in Armenia. Originally, AGBU LEAP was designed to provide professional training and skill development in key industries that would help Artsakh prosper economically. Back then, it was a winning strategy to show the world that Artsakh could sustain itself economically as an autonomous republic, a key factor in its bid to gain international recognition as a sovereign state. 

Aspiring locals could acquire 21st century skills in public administration, business, tourism, digital and social media marketing, leadership, and personnel management, as well as gain English language proficiency. Azerbaijan’s September 2023 attack on Artsakh and its people changed all that. 

The Armenia version of LEAP offers many of these same features in addition to retraining and requalification in their existing professions or short-term courses to accelerate job placements in fields with a high demand for workers. This includes programming, 3D modeling, as well as culinary and confectionary opportunities. For the latter, AGBU teamed up with the French-Armenian Specialized Training Center. Each course runs for six weeks with three full day sessions per week. 

Alternatively, participants can opt to receive support and guidance in establishing their own small enterprise or receive grant money to relaunch an existing business. 

Another AGBU LEAP partner is the Luse Rehabilitation Center Foundation. Its mission is to rehabilitate children with social disabilities. AGBU supported the foundation by organizing training sessions on the premises of the prospective employer. This would increase the chances of on-site trainees receiving a full-time job offer after the training. 

Thanks to AGBU’s initiative, psychologist Qristina Sahakyan, 25, was one of the beneficiaries of this arrangement.

Sahakyan’s professional journey began at Artsakh State University, where she graduated with a degree in psychology. Following the 2020 conflict, she joined Mission Armenia, which launched a branch in Artsakh after the war. She later worked with the Caroline Cox Rehabilitation Center, focusing on helping children and families from border villages. In 2023, she also worked at the Mother and Child Medical Center, gaining experience with diverse patient needs.

She fled Artsakh with her family on September 27, resettling in Yerevan with her parents, sister, and grandfather. In July 2024, she learned about the LEAP training, decided to apply and, soon after, began working at Luse. 

LEAP’s music therapy program lasted for two months, with three sessions perweek. Although Sahakyan had prior knowledge of music therapy, she had never studied it in depth, and this training allowed her to learn specialized techniques. The program introduced her to the psychological effects of different musical instruments and how to select appropriate sounds for children belonging to different age groups to maximize therapeutic benefits. Today, she continues her work as a psychologist, with a new focus on music therapy. 

Now at Luse Rehabilitation Center Foundation as a psychologist and music therapist, Sahakyan is part of a UNICEF-supported project that serves 100 children with disabilities in group therapies. This six-month initiative uses music therapy as a core component of its approach. Sahakyan is one of ten newly trained specialists hired to implement these practices.

In her sessions, Sahakyan notes that music therapy has proven effective in calming children and improving their focus. She emphasizes that the structure of each session—starting and ending with music—enhances the children’s ability to engage and be open for cooperation with their peers. Working with children with conditions like autism and Down syndrome, her team uses group settings to promote social skills among the participants.

Currently, Sahakyan and her father are the sole providers of a family of five.  She asserts that they are able to manage the household and make ends meet. “It was due to AGBU LEAP that I can now apply these new techniques and help children with special needs. I am excited that, after so many hardships, I have the opportunity to keep working in the profession I love.”

Sahakyan thinks that the need for psychologists is immense at this point, especially after the brutal outcome of the war in 2020, the blockade that started in 2022, and the forcible displacement in 2023. But she also emphasized the advantages of working with children to whose pain and sorrow she can closely relate, having gone through the same hardships they did. In her view, the children usually feel less estranged and open up easier to people who face similar difficulties. After the project concluded, Sahakyan noticed how far the therapy has helped children become more organized, calm, and open to sharing.

Disclaimer: The 2024 phase of humanitarian assistance and integration of Armenians forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh is funded by HEKS/EPER aid organization of Protestant Church in Switzerland.