Garik, a 16 year-old from the village of Noramarg, has quit the eighth grade to go and work. He says his family couldn’t make it otherwise. "If I didn’t leave school, there is no way to support my family. I accept whatever work that comes my way," Garik says. His parents gave their consent to him leaving school.

Garik’s mother Narineh says her son supports the entire family – her, his father, sister and brother. "He works in the vineyard, in the canning factory and cleans the stables of the Yezidis." The boy’s father Sasoun, a 39 year-old who is confined to a wheelchair from sclerosis, says," I think I could improve with a bit of treatment, but nobody wants to do it for free. The doctors just write some really expensive prescription." Sasoun receives a disability allowance of 26,000 AMD and an 11,200 pension per month. The government donated the wheelchair, but the wheels don’t work. The Hovhannisyan family leaved in a temporary "vagon" hut for years. Just recently, the village mayor gave them the keys to a house whose owners have been living overseas for quite awhile. "We’ve gotten used to the house. It’s like the house is ours. If the owners return, we’ll have no place to go," says Narineh. The village isn’t supplied with gas. Everyone burns wood for heat during the cold winter months. Sometimes the mayor provides wood. Otherwise, Garik must find the precious fuel. The boy doesn’t complain that he’s the one to shoulder the family’s burden. He merely dreams of one day making enough money to send his 14 year-old sister to college. "We boys can get by without an education. But my sister is different. I want her to have some type of profession," says Garik.

Rouzan Gishyan