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University of Mosul students volunteer to restore library

August 29, 2017 By administrator

Volunteers clean debris from the library at Mosul’s university. Photos: Mustafa Khaled

Citing inaction by the Iraqi government and politicians, a group of student volunteers came together this weekend to clean the debris from the University of Mosul’s Ibn Khaldun Center Library.

“We are young, we saw our city destroyed and the government is unable to help,” the organizer of the volunteer group, Mustafa Khaled, told Rudaw English of their work on Saturday and Sunday.

“So we decided to rebuild it and prepare it to be the beautiful university it once was.”

Much of the University of Mosul was destroyed either under ISIS control or by coalition airstrikes in the operations to retake the city from the militant group.

Some 150,000 books were destroyed inside the Ibn Khaldun Center, according to the group.

“We were only able to save about 2,000 books,” said Khaled, a 21-year-old Computer Engineering student.

Several libraries across Mosul were targeted by ISIS and the books inside burned.

The University of Mosul is one of the largest education compounds in Iraq and is situated in the eastern part of Mosul that was announced fully liberated on January 24. The entire city was declared liberated on July 10.

ISIS used the university’s facilities to manufacture weapons and drones. The campus was also one of the group’s main command and control centres in eastern Mosul. In early 2016, coalition warplanes bombed the university, targeting ISIS’ headquarters there.

Khaled is calling for support in the restoration process of the University of Mosul, as the group of volunteers took it upon themselves to do the clean-up without funding.

UNDP stated it July it is helping to rehabilitate the university by providing 50 generators, deploying “cash-for-work” teams to clean the university grounds and clear debris as well as rebuilding dormitories, although Khaled’s group was not a part of such an UN-sponsored team.

“But we are far from the government and the politicians,” he said. “Most of the meetings are politicized and we want our support to be civil or international, not political.”

The UN has requested $707 million for stabilization programs in western Mosul, $174 million in eastern Mosul and another $232 million to stabilize other areas of Iraq.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: library, Mosul, restore, students, volunteer

Karabakh: 500 Armenian volunteer fighters ARF meeting in Stepanakert ready for prime time

April 2, 2016 By administrator

arton124092-480x337Following the Armenian-Azeri clashes that began the night of 1 to 2 April to 3 am on the front of Nagorno Karabakh after the intensive attack of Azerbaijan, the Armenian army has successfully pushed the enemy count more 200 dead.

The Armenians, the results provided by the President Serzh Sargsyan who was 18 dead and 35 wounded is expected to rise in the coming hours as the confrontation continues on the forehead. With tanks, cannons and military helicopters. Faced with this situation of war, the Armenians of the world are mobilizing to condemn Azerbaijani aggression. The Veterans Committee of the ARF Armenia calls for the mobilization of volunteers’ brigade of Shushi.

“ He called volunteer fighters who carried the war of liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh to meet and go to the front to provide help and support to the soldiers Armenians and defend the borders of the country.

The newspaper announces that Yerkir.am Palace of Culture in Stepanakert nearly 500 men, volunteers for their majority together and expect military equipment to mount the front. Other voluntary movements are also advertised in Armenia. The Armenian Defense Ministry has yet said that for now, the Armenian Army could “meet its obligations” and repel enemy attacks.

Krikor Amirzayan

Filed Under: News Tagged With: 500 Armenian, fighter, Karabakh, volunteer

Youth Corps Volunteers Look Forward to Armenia

July 8, 2014 By administrator

BY ANI KHACHATOURIAN

I am less than three weeks away from my departure and currently mixed with many emotions. Last time I was in Armenia, I had a different agenda. I was on a class trip, I was in fifth grade, and I had just an idea of my capabilities in this country. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about returning and getting a taste of what it’s really like to be living in Armenia, but it’s a different kind of nervousness. Of course, I get emotional vankevery time I think about leaving my friends and family, people who I have spent the past eighteen summers with, but I also get the same sentiment every time I think about going home again, seeing Ararat again, walking on the streets of Yerevan again. I am impatiently waiting for AYF Youth Corps to start, I am excited to meet my family for the next six weeks, and I can’t wait to create memories and give back to a country that has given me so much.

* * *

BY MELANIE SEARLES

I’ve never been out of the country. I’ve been wanting to travel for so long, and I figured Armenia should be where I start — especially going with the youth corps. I’m so excited to tour the country and learn more in depth about the history of Armenia. I want to see all the beautiful, historic churches and buildings that are there. But I’m really looking forward to working with the children at the camps. I truly hope that I can positively searles-ycaffect them and much as they will affect me. I know that this will be a life changing experience and I’m so ready to get there!

* * *

BY NAIRI DULGARIAN

This is the moment I have waited for for a long time. Years have turned into months, months have turned into weeks, and soon, weeks will turn into days. As I continue my countdown to one of the biggest adventures of my life with AYF Youth Corps, I find it hard to describe exactly what I am feeling, since there are so many thoughts and emotions going through my mind. Beneath all of my enthusiasm and impatience for our trip to begin, I can’t help but feel a bit nervous. Nervous because I’ve never been so far away from home for so long. Nervous because although I have been to Armenia twice before, I have never been without the comfort of having my family and close friends nearby. Nervous because I’m not yet sure exactly what to expect. Nervous because no matter how excited I am, the butterflies can’t seem to leave my stomach.
Everyone I have talked to who has participated in this program has said the same thing: that Youth Corps will be the best experience of my life, that when I come home, not a day will go by that I don’t wish I was back in Armenia. I’ve looked at pictures from past years, read blogs, and gotten advice from other participants. Hearing stories from friends who have participated and seeing the contributions that have been left by others have helped me mask my nervousness and overpower it with excitement. I’m excited to see my homeland for the third time, but in a completely different way than I did the first two times. Excited to witness the beauty of Armenia with such an amazing group of people. Excited to bond with the children of the camps we will be working at, as well as fellow participants and our host families. Excited to become a temporary resident of the country my great grandparents were forced to leave a hundred years ago. And finally, I’m excited to create my own experiences, while at the same time helping to continue the legacy that AYF Youth Corps leaves behind each summer. The countdown continues until our departure date, and I can’t wait for the adventures to begin.

* * *

carla-ycBY CARLA KEKEJIAN

Participating in AYF Youth Corps has always been on my To-Do List. I’ve wanted to participate in this program ever since I was introduced to it as a Badanee. Following Youth Corps, I’ll be staying in Armenia for an additional five weeks to become a Birthright Armenia participant, as well.

Thus, in less than two weeks, I’ll be embarking on the journey of a lifetime. While I’ve been to Armenia once before, I know that this trip will be entirely different. For starters, I’ll be there for longer than two weeks, doing so much more than sightseeing and touring. I have so much to look forward to and I can’t help but be overtaken with excitement. There’s so much I want to do and experience while living and working in Armenia, and what better way to organize those aspirations than with an Armenia To-Do list as my first Youth Corps blog. Of course, I know that the adventures that wait in Armenia are going to exceed this list, greatly.

Here we go:

1. Learn to make Sarma (called Dolma in Armenia). Maybe I’ll even be able to pick the grape leaves myself!

2. Have the kids I work with in Armenia and Artsakh teach me how to juggle a soccer ball.

3. Sing a couple of lines from my favorite Sayat Nova song on Sayat Nova St.

4. Make Ճինկալով Հաց in Artsakh.

5. Շուրջպար with my group around the «Ազատ Արցախը Ողջունում է Ձեզ» sign at the entrance of Karabakh.

6. Coordinate an Armenian dance with a group of ճահել kids.

7. Ամէն առիթ օգտագոծել Հայերէն երգելու:

8. Have a memorable experience celebrating Armenia’s second independence on September 21.

9. Dance to a live Dhol and Zurna entourage.

10. Become a family with the other Youth Corps participants.

11. Write a Youth Corps blog entirely in Armenian.

12. Make very second in Armenia matter; the smallest effort and contribution is going to make a huge impact.

13. Visit Areni winery.

14. Witness a wedding.

15. Discover, and fall in love with hidden gems of Armenia and Artsakh that often go unnoticed or unappreciated.

16. To not be a tourist.

17. Learn Artsakh’s national anthem.

18. Have an incredible experience watching the World Cup championship match.

19. Climb a tree. (I’ve never climbed a tree before.)

20. Go hiking in Artsakh.

21. Learn to skip rocks at Parvana Lij in Javakhk.

22. Contribute to Armenia’s development and prosperity through my volunteer work with AYF Youth Corps and the internship I take part in with Birthright Armenia.

23. Survive Vartivar.

24. Try to buy a jazve from Jazve Cafe.

25. Return with stories about life in Armenia and inspire more diasporans to live and experience Armenia the following summer.

26. Lorke wherever, whenever possible.

27. Be fearless, be independent, open-hearted, and open-minded.

28. See Henrikh Mkhitaryan

29. Ամէն առիթ օգտագոծել Հայերէն խօսելու:

30. Have the most remarkable, adventurous, inspirational, educational, and unforgettable, summer

Throughout my time in Armenia, I’ll be consistently writing blogs and I hope that in each one of those blogs I’ll be able to tell an incredible story about an extraordinary experience I had, on my own and with the group. In time, I’ll be gladly crossing off things from my Armenia To-Do List.

Source: Azbarez

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: volunteer, youth

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