Join us in building our BERD!

Hello, friends!

We are the “berdapahs”, meaning “the fortress guards” in Armenian. We are 12-17-year-old students, we live in Tavush - just on the border. We are consistent and disciplined, we know from the day we were born that peace should be earned։ It should be earned by will, knowledge, and persistent work. 

And we want to learn and improve our survival skills. 

So, we have chosen our path to become the fortress guard։ The «Berdapah» is a tactical and physical training program, that has been implemented in the Tavush region since February 2022 by the Berd NGO. We gain basic tactical training knowledge, learn to orient ourselves in the forests better and find our paths on the map. During our lessons, we learn to combine both knowledge and will to succeed at personal and team levels, as well as to be ready for emergencies. 

Last summer our first summer youth camp took place. A group of 50 campers from Berd, Movses, Nerkin Karmiraghbyur, and Aygepar were able to become better acquainted with one another in the forests of Tavush, as we practiced the skills we learned in the program in a range of exciting camp activities. 

Since the program has been established we have visited a number of the other memorable places in Armenia to learn more about the country and its history. In December of 2022 we visited the Yerevan, and commemorated the 105 years of May Heroic Wars in May 1918 at the Sardarapat Memorial Center in June of 2023.  

We believe that our friends from other communities should have the opportunity to join our team and have the chance to experience the benefits of our program. For this we need YOUR support! Additional funding will ensure the normal functioning of already existing groups, improve the material and technical base of the project, and make the program more widely available, especially to youth in villages with small populations. We thank you in advance for your trust and support of our program. 

Homeland begins at the border!