Pia Jerslund from Mission East’s board has just visited Armenia for the first time in 24 years. She says: – Children with disabilities come out of isolation and parents form groups where they support each other, yes, there has been a change of attitude in the whole society.

Can you perform in a theatre, take a university education and participate in national math competitions when you have a disability? Of course!

A targeted effort over 30 years is now bearing fruit, says Pia Jerslund from Mission East’s board. She has just returned from a trip to Armenia with Managing Director Betina Gollander-Jensen and communications officer Karen Sophie Kragh.

A change of attitude in society

Pia Jerslund could clearly see change in the country, which she visited back in 1997 in connection with an emergency aid distribution.

– It was exciting to see what we have actually achieved in all those years. That we, together with the organization Bridge of Hope, have been able to improve the lives of people with disabilities. And that the work has largely succeeded in reversing the attitude of society. And alleviating the parents’ sense of guilt and shame.

Before, children with disabilities were hidden away in the houses without options. But that’s now in the past:

– When we visited a school, we met a girl with spastic paralysis. She is so clever that she participates in math competitions in Armenia. 30 years ago, she would have ended up as illiterate, states Pia Jerslund.

Mothers give up careers to support their children

She was also impressed by mothers who sat with their children every day to support them in school. Children who in many cases cannot be there alone.

– Mothers give up their jobs and careers to take care of their children. One of these mothers has started studying psychology so she can help other parents support their children. In addition, she writes plays for a theater in the capital Yerevan, where people with disabilities perform.

– Another mother is an opera singer who has also given up her career to help her child. At the same time, she has set up a parent group where parents can meet and talk together. Parents obviously need to meet and support each other. For many, having a child with a disability is still shameful.

Twins with disabilities took a university degree

Pia Jerslund and the team also visited one of the four centers that Bridge of Hope operates in northern Armenia. Here, families in the town and the surrounding villages can come and draw on the skills of the staff, receive instruction in how to train with their children, and learn various exercises they can use at home.

Many of the users referred to the centers as their family, says Pia Jerslund:

– Here they belonged, and here they were met with love, understanding and the professionalism they need. They lit up when they told us about their center.

– We met a winegrower who has two daughters who both have a disability and have been affiliated with a Bridge of Hope center since it started in 2005. The twins are 28 years old and have both taken a pedagogical education at the university. They are now helping out at the Bridge and Hope Center, where they themselves have gone to rehab. The father has also hired one daughter to take care of the wine farm’s finances and the other to take care of PR and marketing.

– He said we could not imagine what it meant for him and his daughters and others with disabilities that someone came to look at their center and take their situations seriously. It means a whole lot to them. It was very touching! ends Pia Jerslund.