Four Months in Vanadzor

Background

I first heard about Birthright Armenia when my brother applied to it in 2023. We were both born in Yerevan, after my dad came from the United States to Armenia for work and met my mom, a Yerevantsi. After we moved to the US (Maine) when I was 5, my mom would take us on yearly summer visits from between 2 weeks to 2 months to visit her side of the family. It’s funny, even though I live in the US, I feel closer with my Armenian family than I do a lot of my extended US family, and I attribute it to my mom’s love for her family and country that brought us back almost every summer when I was growing up.

Applying

I had already explored much of Armenia before doing Birthright, but it was my brother’s year-long Birthright experience that drew me in. He talked about the farm he worked on in Gyumri making cheese, the late night outings he had with friends, Birthright excursions that had him hiking to waterfalls, the school he helped restore, and more. Although I had done a lot of exploration in Armenia before, I a) had never worked in Armenia, b) never fluently learned the language, c) never gone independently, and d) never volunteered here even though there is a need for it. So these were the main reasons I wanted to do this program. I saw that there were many different types of opportunities and facets of self-exploration I could delve into. So, I applied, got accepted, and did four months of volunteering in Vanadzor between June-October 2025 (the reimbursement was a plus but I also love smaller cities over big ones).

Arrival

When I first arrived, I had no idea what to expect. I was accepted to work at two different sites: the first was a greenhouse in Spitak and the Vanadzor municipality, where I taught GIS. The second was with Shunik Toonik — a Birthright Armenia–initiated group in Vanadzor dedicated to building dog houses for stray dogs.

Before I met some other volunteers in the office, I was nervous. Would I fit in? Would I like living here for so long, or would I want to leave after a month? But as soon as I went into the office and met the other volunteers, I felt like I was just talking to my friends. There is a very warm and friendly atmosphere in the Vanadzor BR office and looking back it was a rare and precious experience (especially after working in some not so pleasant volunteer/paid positions, this was a breath of fresh air). Over the course of my experience, I would come to make some friends who I hope to stay connected to for life, and for me, a huge part of that was that Vanadzor had a smaller volunteer group (~20) which allowed us to all get to know each other really well.

Self reflection

One thing that I realized through my time at Birthright was how much more enjoyable it was to focus on helping others than to focus on whether or not I was “accepted” or “enough.” Growing up, I always felt pretty uncomfortable coming to Armenia because there are some big cultural differences (plus my lack of understanding the language) that led me to feel like an outsider. But during my volunteering, I worked at jobsites where I could see my impact as I worked, and that was incredibly rewarding and refreshing for me.

This program was a big lesson for me on how not to focus on these self-conscious feelings and instead focus on how I can help others. I worked at a greenhouse run by a family, and doing a physical job (along with weekly CSP’s) was amazing for my body and mind. Not only that, but the family was so kind and I felt like I was really making a difference by helping a family-run operation. I also ran the Instagram page for Shunik Toonik, and thanks to donors, we raised enough money to make 3 dog houses and fund vaccines for 12 dogs in Vanadzor (so far). I taught my coworker at the municipality how to use GIS to make maps. Overall, I feel really happy with my work, and I honestly wish I did more (but alas, I am broke).

Another huge thing for me was that I was very independent on this trip, which was much needed. Yes, I lived with a host family, but of course I had to do a lot of things on my own, which really strengthened both my confidence in how I handle myself in another country and my Armenian speaking skills. Although I’m not fluent yet, I have made a lot of progress just from the necessity of speaking Armenian as I traveled around the country.

Excursions

I won’t get too much into it, but some huge highlights of my trips were the excursions I went on, especially to Trchkan waterfall and the 3-day Syunik region excursion. Here, I saw incredible nature, which is super important for me, and I met some incredible people. The excursions pushed me to be more outgoing, and I definitely needed that as a somewhat introverted person.

Looking forward

In the future, I would love to have another experience like this. I will absolutely do AVC, and I am also interested in applying to the BR grants to further help the stray animals of Armenia. This is not the end of my journey with Birthright, and I hope that my story inspires others to start your own journey with Birthright.