Emili Aregak Center offers free therapy programs to children with special needs in Gyumri, made possible entirely through donor support.

Disability still carries heavy stigma in Armenia — children are often made to feel less-than, mothers are blamed for their kids' challenges, and families are left isolated, anxious, and unsupported. Emili Aregak pushes back against that narrative. Here, kids work with skilled, encouraging specialists who help them uncover abilities they didn't know they had — and parents start to see their children differently too.

Physical therapy builds strength, mobility, and coordination. Occupational therapy builds the everyday skills kids need for independence, from fine motor control to self-care. Together with speech, art, and music therapy, and support from three psychologists, these programs give children a real path forward.

Ayo! is proud to fund one year of physical therapy and one year of occupational therapy for the kids Emili Aregak serves.

The center is run by Caritas Aregak Foundation, which works more broadly to advance disability inclusion in Armenia. The foundation also runs Aregak Bakery — the country's only cafe training and employing young adults with special needs and their families — and is launching Green Aregak, a social business empowering young people with disabilities to work in agriculture growing tomatoes.