11.16.2017

Armenian Delegates Visit Treehouse

By Jesse Colman, Treehouse Marketing Intern

Through the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, five delegates from the country of Armenia toured The Wearhouse, our free store for youth in foster care. The goal was to learn how Treehouse addresses some of the many issues the youth face.

The delegates consisted of representatives that are policy makers, social workers and community leaders in non-governmental organizations and included: Aida Muradyan, Maya Mirzoyan, Arkadi Papoyan, Margarita Shahverdyan and Davit Melik-Nubaryan. Selected by staff at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia, they were accompanied by two translators, Artur Hokobyan and Artem Mkrtchyan.

“One thing that is not required by participants is the knowledge of English. They are professionals in their own fields and they are chosen because they are emerging leaders,” said Artur, a contract translator for the State Department. “These people come here to see the American approach to the fields they work in, which are also different from state to state. It’s very interesting work.”

Following the tour, we chatted with Davit to learn more about the program and his experience so far.

What is the purpose of your visit?

The mission of the visit is to understand how the U.S. deals with and manages child welfare. We are trying to take some effective skills and professional contacts to our country. We will try to implement and use them. The final goal is to improve the situation with kids in our country.

What have you learned in your visit?

We have been learning about different levels of addressing children’s issues, including children’s rights, welfare, protecting them from abuse on a national level, a policy development level and then on a local level. We have been meeting with people who actually implement it. We have visited many non-governmental organizations and service providers that are supporting this cause, so there’s a wide range and scope.

How was your visit here at Treehouse?

Excellent! We are really impressed. This is a great job that you are doing. It is wonderful how much the volunteers engage in all aspects of children’s issues in the U.S. This is just one of the things we learned and want to work to develop in our own country.