Ce retour aux sources ne pouvait être que émouvant, mais je ne pensais pas qu’il puisse changer autant de choses en moi. Les gens que j’ai rencontre tout au long de se séjour m’ont touche au plus profond de moi même. Il est vrai que les premiers jours sont dures car on est entoures de ruines et les traces de la guerre sont a chaque coin de rue, mais on arrive a deviner la beauté passée de cette ville. Les habitants sont tellement adorables que l’on ne peut que s’y attacher! Bref, je suis tombée amoureuse de ce pays, de cette ville, de ces gens, de cette langue... et je sens en moi grandir Méliné l’arménienne.
Le fait de quitter Shoushi m’a rendu très triste et je crois que quand je prendrais l'avion, les larmes vont une fois de plus couler.
Mais je reviendrai, maintenant que j’ai goûté a ce pays, je pense que je vais en devenir dépendante!
Bref, ce voyage m’a enrichit d’une façon incroyable. Merci.
Pirollo-Karnikian Melina, Shushi, 18, France.

Pour un premier voyage en Arménie ce fut très charge en découvertes et en émotions. Mais ce qui m’a le plus enchante c’est l’ambiance de notre groupe de Shoushi. Tous les membres sont adorables et à leur contact je me suis enrichi sur tous les points. Heureusement nous pouvons nous revoir à Paris. Il ne manquera que Ararat et Abgar, les deux arméniens (de Erevan). Ce qui est sur c’est que je ferais tout pour les revoir le plus tôt possible.
Jean-Christophe Ladeuil, Shushi, 22, France.

Je suis Sevak Kevorkian. J’ai 24 ans. J’habite à L’Hay-Les Roses, en France. Je suis heureux de venir en Arménie et au Karabagh.
J’étais à Shoushi pendant trois semaines pour l’aide humanitaire. Pour moi, c’était vraiment étonnant car a Shoushi, malgré ses immeubles ruines, les gens sont très courageux grâce a l’intelligence et a la volonté. Ils travaillent a reconstruire cette ville ruinée par la guerre pour leur avenir.
De toute façon, ça s’est très bien passe au Karabagh. Je suis très content. Merci.
Sevak Kevorkian, Shuhsi, 20, France.

Last Friday I headed to Shadvan to visit the group and check out the worksite. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to see how much the work had progressed. All the walls on the first floor were placed and plastered from the inside. The walls of the second floor had been placed in most of the rooms. The point was to narrow the openings so the cold winter wind doesn’t penetrate as much. The roof was 98% completed and the reinforcement of the weak foundations were almost complete. The second group is working very hard.
On this trip, I had invited volunteers from last year’s Ayroum group since three of the Shadvan August 2004 volunteers were in Ayroum last year. It was nice reunion. We had a lot of fun and the Mayor (Levon) offered a nice Khorovadz dinner. He played the accordion and we sang and danced. Then we headed to the barn for a nice roll in the barley weed...
The next day the Shadvan group left for Shushi and we visited Dadivank and Stepanakerd on the way. The evening in Shuhsi was quiet. The group is a bit older there. The next morning we visited the progress done at the Hospital and a nice walk in the town. It was quite a tiring day since we took the long way back. I got home to Yerevan at 2 a.m. and the Shadvan group arrived maybe at about 3:30 a.m. I really miss the July kids. You were totally awesome!
Raffi Niziblian, repat from Canada, 34.

We visited the Shushi group this weekend and we’re all really excited to return to Shadvan. I have come to love the village life here, the people we work with Aram, Gamo, Arthur, Derenig. I love milking cows, running after geese, bringing water home from the fountain, swimming in lake Sevan...
I love Shadvan!
Laurice Der Bedrossian , 18, France.

After work we got two cars and headed to lake Sevan. There we swam, showered under the sunset, and under the "leadership" of our drivers made FIRE. We barbecued tomatoes and ate it with Lavash bread. Sevan found a puppy which we appropriately named Sevan, since he was found by Sevan on Lake Sevan. Now he is with us. We got back in the cars and not even 15 minutes into the ride one of the cars broke down, 2 other cars stopped to help us and after almost 2 hours we got the car going. 30 minutes later we in turn got to help one of the cars who helped us. A great Shadvan experience. And it only gets better.
Nanor Barsoumian, 21, USA.

Hi Mom and Dad,
Just want to let you know you can stop worrying. I’m warm safe, full and I love my new outhouse.
Megan and Amy, I totally expect you guys to do this with me next year .
Tania Marzikian, 26, USA.

We just arrived in the village and the villagers were extremely warm and welcoming. The children were excited to show us their school and the work done by the July group. we are really looking forward to finishing where they left off.
Laurice Der Bedrossian, 18, France & Tania Marzikian, 26, USA.

Le village parait extremement chalereux, a premiere vue. Les enfants nous ont accueillies avec beaucoup d’espoir. Le travail a effectuer parait ong et difficile mais nous gardons espoir pour faire le maximum de taches possibles.
Marc Avakiantz, France.

So I’m back, back to the village, back to Shadvan. I spent the month of July in Shushi, which was marvelous, but I wanted to get a taste of Shadvan as well. Right as our var arrived to the house I was swarmed by all the kids in the village and this was all I needed, I felt warm and very comfortable. The departure of the last group was very hard for me, I built very close friendships with everyone and watching them leave in the airport going back home was extremely painful and difficult. As the new group arrived I was in a very weird mental mode. Who are these people? Why is my group gone? Why didn’t I go back home? I too a day or two for me to get used to the fact that my friends are gone and it’s time to move on. I’m very happy to say that this new group of people are very interesting and I’m looking forward to the next few weeks we have together. I will keep you all updated in the next few days about my experiences and adventures here in contrast with Shushi. To my friends who have gone home, I miss you all so much, you all were so amazing and so beautiful and so kind to me. To the Frenchies, you girls were unbelievable, Anoush I love you so much. To the Armenians, without you guys I doubt I could have lasted more than a day, with your home town support and love I had an amazing experience. To my Yerevantsi friends, you guys were AWESOME, I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks in Yerevan. I hope Shadvan is ready for me, crazy party hardy Armenian. I left most of my heart in Shushi, let’s see if I have some left for Shadvan.
Peace.
Kevork Der Kevorkian, USA.

It's 3 pm on a sweltering Yerevan day. It is my last day in Armenia. In the past 28 days there have been eye-opening moments, frequent questions of identity, frustrations with the language social bond forged with fellow volunteers and locals and memories to last a lifetime. This is a sappy, sugar-coated account of my first time in Armenia. There were a handful of times I wished I was back home. There was the frustration of a lack of direction and communication at our work site at times. There were moments I wanted to pour my heart out to a local villager but felt the constraints of my inability to express myself in Armenian in an eloquent manner. But the vision of this project and the commitment in my heart to this cause is much stronger than my frustration or disappointment that has arisen on this trip. Despite the inefficiency, we successfully accomplished important structural reinforcements in the renovation of the school in Shadvan. We laid the symbolic foundations for future LCO group there. We touched the hearts of the villagers and they touched ours. Hearing the kids coming around every evening and calling my name to come out and play was heartwarming. The hospitality and the generosity of the families there was wonderful. We had more invitations for "soorge" and "khorovatz" then we knew what to do with. Our weekend excursions to historical sites and landmarks were enriching and enlightening. My appetite for my people’s history has grown tremendously. Our time in Yerevan has been invaluable. Our activities were so diverse ranging from dance workshops to museum visits, student discussions to a meeting with the foreign affairs minister, enjoying the Armenian Navy Band to hitting the club scene. Our days have been jam packed and complimented with our nights out to the early morning hours. Consequently, my lack of sleep has made things very hazy right now and is contributing to my rambling. Currently, every thing is a whirlwind and it will take weeks if not months for all of the pieces of this experience to fall into place. Clearly, I’ve had mixed emotions. But the amount of growth that I’ve felt is amazing. Armenia truly is a beautiful country. At times I’ve felt like fish out of water but at other times I’ve felt right at home. Any way you look at it, my time has had a deep and I’m sure a long-lasting impact in my life. It has been a very worth while experience overall. Thank you LCO.
Viken Tachdjian, USA.

This trip is amazing because not only do we have the opportunity to see the incredible history and beauty of this country, but by working along side the villagers to benefit the country and the people, I’ve come to feel that Armenia is part of me, and will be part of my life permanently.
Sophia Balakian, USA.

Il y a tellement de sentiments dans ma tête que je ne sais par ou commencer. Je pense que ce qui me marque le plus c’est la force que dégage le Karabagh avec tous ce qu’elle contient; L`histoire de chaque famille, le paysage. Ce qui me réjouit le plus, c’est que nous sommes tous réunis ici pour un seul et même but: ramener le pays à la prospérité.
Lori Balyozyan, 23, Nice, France.

1ere journée: Dès l`arrivée à l’aéroport c`est une foulée d`émotions à laquelle je ne m’attendais pas qui m’a surprise. Nous sommes arrivés à Erevan et j’ai compris à quel point ce séjour était essentiel. Après les visites qui nous ont en mis plein les yeux, malgré certaines choses qui m’ont attristé, l’arrivée à Chouchi a été tout aussi forte – J’aime déjà cet endroit (malgré l’absence d’eau et de chasse d’eau qui m’effraie un peu...) Heureuse.
Ani Basar, 24, Nice, France.

The work here is heavy but our hearts are light. It is good getting to know such interesting people. I personally haven't felt so close to so many people in such a short time.
Nareg Seferian, 20, Repatriate from India.

Mon sentiment à l’heure qu’il est, est simple à décrire : La joie de faire parti d’un groupe comme celui-ci, dans un environnement baigné d arménité , le plaisir des rencontres effectuées avec le groupe de Chadvan, avec les habitants, les enfants...Je pourrai en écrire des lignes et des lignes mais je suis impatiente de retourner au travail, il y a encore tant de choses à effectuer, le temps est précieux.
Anouch Kéchichian, 23, Lyon, France.

Today although we are very tired, we do not let ourselves forget why we are here and what we have come to do. It is truly a blessing to be here in Karabagh, this is a life-changing experience that will be with me for a lifetime. Every breath I take here, I wish not to waste because I see how much life is present here in my people. I wish that I could stay longer to help renew and restore because through this not only are the people of Shushi changed but I become new and different as well truly for the better.
Taline Yepremian, USA.

I love the simplicity of life in the village, the fresh homemade food is wonderful; that people are the friendliest and most hospitable. The children have the most beautiful faces; and the mountains and springs are invigorating. As a student of anthropology and as an Armenian this is an experience of a lifetime – even after only 3 days.
Sophia Balakian, USA.

Life in the village resembles a huge extended family and I feel honored to be accepted so wormlty into it. This is truly the most beautiful place I've been to and the experience just keeps getting better and better.
Rebecca Hony, Uk.

It is nice to see all the Armenians from all over the world working for only one reason, that is helping their own country to have a better life.
Aram Djanian, Brazil.

Staying in Armenia is like removing a dark lens which shaded my eyesight back home. The villages are beautiful and the colors are sharp and clear.
Laura MacAulay, Canada.

Never did I know what Armenia meant to me, that the lessons I was meant to learn were to find me so quickly. Never will I forget that first sight of Ararat, our unifying symbol, basking in the sunlight, high above the clouds. Never have I felt this close to heaven.
Armen Tamzarian, Canada.

It is a shame how men stand around with no work to do. Their potential and their children's potentials are lost.
Vivian Ohanian, USA.

To define myself as an Armenian is as challenging and beautiful as trying to count the stars in the great Shadvan Sky. Intangible reality, overwhelming experience but full of possibility.
Anais Kadian, Canada.

My LCO experience this far has been one I will never forget. The group has become extremely close in it's goal of renovating the Shushi hospital as well as bringing inspiration to the men and women and children of Shushi. Seeing the smiling faces of the children as we pass is an image that will remain with me forever.
Zachary Armen, USA.

People are simple, they are not troubled by what troubles people in big cities. They have a way of making their lives simple. They’ve been through so much but they are not depressed. They see the cup half full.
Christophe Sedef, France.

These people are so rich in spirit, money doesn’t matter for survival. Now I understand where my parents and all our traditions have come from.
Yepremian Taline Yelena, USA.

What struck me the most about this first day was the reactions of the volunteers who had come to Armenia for the first time. I can't imagine how they could even contemplate going directly to Shoushi from the airport - a ten hours bus ride - but I guess breakfast at Hotel Ani helped. They were looking at things with wonder, things that I already took for granted, having lived here for two years now. Khor Virap and Noravank were beautiful as usual, both undergoing very positive renovations. And, of course, going to Karabagh is a new experience for me, too, and I hope I'll enjoy it to the fullest in the coming days.
Nareg Seferian, 20, Repatriate from India.

The start of my journey ... one word, BREATHTAKING! I didn't know what to expect or how I would feel. The second I got off the plane my eyes were filled with tears - tears of joy, tears of excitement, tears of happiness. Everything is so beautiful, the old churches, building, the children and the sight and Mount Ararad gave me the feeling of HOME and comfort. This is where I belong, my Armenia.
Kevork Der-Kevorkian, 18, Boston, USA

The bus ride to Shoushi was rough. I have been this road over 6 times in the past 2 months. This time, it was different. I was reminded of my first trip to Karin Dag as an LCO volunteer in 1999. The reactions of the new volunteers reminded me of my first reactions when herds of cows and sheep would be crossing the road as the bus would soar towards them; or abandoned villages near the roads; the kids waving; the churches way up on high cliffs. The most special moment of the day was when the two groups that had already bonded during their few days together was to separate. One group left for Vartenis, and the other headed towards Artsakh. I don't know what it is but LCO seems to have a magnetic power that draws people to one another and to the LAND.
Raffi Niziblian, 34, Repatriate from Canada

"We had such a great time volunteering for LCO. It was a wonderful experience."
Haig Chahinian, NY, USA.