Eduard: Growing with aregak
Eduard, age 24, has been a part of the Aregak family since its first days in 2008. In the picture above, he was nine years old. When Aregak first opened, it was a daycare center for kids with disabilities that operated out of an old stone house in downtown Gyumri. It wasn’t very comfortable or accessible, but it was filled with a lot of love.
Eduard has severe cerebral palsy. When he was a little boy, he wasn’t able to speak or communicate. Eduard was anxiously attached to his dad and didn’t like to socialize with anyone else. He couldn’t feed himself either.
Eduard got older and so did Aregak. When he was 16 years old, Eduard got to participate in the grand opening of Emili Aregak Center, the state-of-the-art building that clothed the heart and soul of the original Aregak concept in beautiful wood and glass.
By that time, Eduard had learned to speak, communicate, socialize and serve himself. He built a network of friends from Aregak and his parents found a community of parents like themselves.
Now, Eduard can speak, communicate, socialize and serve himself. These are capacities he honed alongside our therapists and in group work, where children can practice social and life skills. In 2022, Eduard began to walk with the help of a walker, to go up and down the stairs and even climb the Swedish ladder. His progress in the past year has stunned us all.
Venera, Eduard’s group leader, has known him for exactly 18 years. Venera says she was young and ignorant when she first met Eduard. She was a teenager volunteering with Faith & Light, an informal group of families of children with special needs that preceded Aregak.
Eduard and Venera have grown up together. For most of their journey, they have been side by side as good friends, but recently they’ve become more than that – they’re fellow goal-setters.
For several years now, the pair have been setting goals for Eduard and meeting them one by one. Over the course of 2022, Venera and Eduard decided to work on conquering some of Eduard’s physical difficulties and improving his posture.
According to Venera, Eduard is modest and doesn’t say much, but he’s determined. She feels ashamed to be weak or depressed when she’s with him.
“I don’t remember a time during our training when Eduard said he was tired or that he didn’t want to keep going,” she shares. “For months I have been wiping the big drops of sweat off of his forehead with the greatest respect for him. I’m so proud.”
For three months now, together with Emili Aregak’s new physiotherapist Gohar, Venera has been doing intensive stretching with Eduard. During one stretch, she was leaning on his leg with all her weight. (Venera, by her own admission, is not small!) Eduard said kindly: “Venera, have you accidentally sat on my leg?”
“I like to work with Eduard, laugh with him, and come up with new, seemingly crazy plans,” says Venera. “All this is also connected to his parents’ unwavering dedication. I feel we have already won. Nothing is impossible if we set a goal and work toward it.”
Eduard’s mom Osanna is so proud of Eduard’s progress. She says it’s visible and obvious! Venera is constantly in touch with updates, and Osanna eagerly awaits her videos. She and Eduard’s dad Alik even work at home on tasks that Gohar and Venera assign. Now that Eduard is able to walk on his own two feet, albeit slowly, the family has acquired a walker for him. He used to use only a wheelchair; now, he’s upgraded devices!
Bright, hopeful and warm in his own, special way, Eduard teaches us every day the magical art of fighting for what you want and rejoicing in each small step forward.