Anbardeli Zabel: An Armenian Children's Book

Nora Kayserian, our alumna from the US who volunteered with us in 2011, came up with an amazing initiative to raise awareness about Zabel Yesayan. Nora is an Armenian-American mother and lover of books. She confesses that she came across many picture books about influential women like Frida Kahlo, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, etc., but she couldn't find any similar books about Armenian women. The truth is Armenian history is full of incredible women who were trailblazers and leaders of their time. So, this was her motivation to come with the concept and create the book "Անպարտելի Զապէլը" [Arbardeli Zabel].

About the Book

"Անպարտելի Զապէլը" is a picture book biography about Armenian writer and activist Zabel Yesayan. It is an inspirational story (in Western Armenian) about a girl who loved books and made history by pursuing her childhood dreams. From the moment she could read, she surrounded herself with words. Zabel discovered the magic between the pages of books and when she was seventeen, she began publishing her first piece of literature. Zabel witnessed many injustices growing up and decided that she would fight for what's right with the most powerful weapon of all: words. Little did she know that one day, she would be considered one of the most important writers of Western Armenian literature.

The Impact

The project aims to connect hundreds of school-aged children with a female hero who shares a similar ethnic background. The hero’s ethnicity and gender are connected to larger personal and social themes like facing challenges, overcoming obstacles, and making a difference in your community. This can impact a child by helping them better understand society and concepts such as equality, fairness, and justice. Another objective of this project is to encourage parents and teachers to read to children in Western Armenian. By producing content that is engaging and fun, we can help foster a new generation of Western Armenian speakers.

How to support the project

• Donate to the fundraising
• Get the word out by posting on your own social media accounts
• Share the campaign with your friends and family via email
• Write a reflection about the project