Healthy dose of realism

    It is 6 a.m. on a hot Yerevan morning.

     The medications are ready, the second-hand clothes are packed, the food is bought, and four doctors are ready for a very positive and touching trip to Karahunge, the village sponsored this year by Watertown High School’s Armenian Club.

    Karahunge, about five hours away from Yerevan and 3 miles from Goris, is a village with an ancient history and many stories of bravery. Today it has nearly 1,000 inhabitants that live in lamentable conditions.

     Jobs are scarce and most of the men have left the country to look for work elsewhere. There is no sense of religion, few have access to new clothes or medicine, there’s little food, and there is only one store, which is owned by the mayor.

    Our ride there is very picturesque.

     We drive through the chain of mountains. Halfway to our destination we stop at a “rest stop,” a series of little village convenience stores, mostly run by women who will generously serve you homemade breakfast or lunch. The mountain view gets more and more spectacular: Tall rocks! Trees! Caves!

    We exit the main road to climb Karahunge’s unpaved roads. A group of chickens welcomes us, and dogs run by, trying to catch up with the cars. We have reached our destination.

    We will be the guests of a father/daughter team, while staying in a typical village house. They give us a tour and we are all impressed by the cleanliness and the style of this very welcoming and warm home.

    The daughter, Vartig, soon has lunch ready on the balcony. After a quick lunch, we head to the clinic.

     The doctors are very eager to meet their patients. We organize the medications on a table. The room is ready, but we realize there is no privacy for the gynecologist and the sonographer, who will administer ultrasounds. We move the examining table to the bathroom (a large-sized room) and the ultrasound hides behind a makeshift curtain. Two dining room chairs function as examining beds. These wonderful doctors are able to see the humor in all this, and do not mind working under these conditions.

    With the money we raised through the Armenian Club, I drive to downtown Goris to buy a folding bed for $100. Life is good!

    Patients arrive in their Sunday clothes, happy and grateful, yet concerned about their health. Women and children of all ages are lined up. We offer the children small toys, pencils, erasers, lollipops, and stickers to make the clinic’s atmosphere more child-friendly. After 8 p.m., the exams end and we go to our village home.

    A village-style dinner is waiting for us. Vartig has done a great job. She is a middle-aged woman, full of energy and humor and very proud to be hosting us. The balcony is large and has a fantastic view of the mountains. While having coffee, we begin to hear music! We look down and here is a grandfather who invites the kids and the neighbors to dance.

    How little they need to be happy! How basic life is in an Armenian village.

    We return to the clinic at 8 a.m. the next day, to discover a long line of women and children waiting to be seen. A volunteer, Mrs. Gayaneh, takes charge of the distribution of the second-hand clothes. Another volunteer, Ms. Aida, takes on the task of handling the guests. And so a great day begins.

     Between one afternoon and another full day of consultation, we examine more than 150 patients, most of whom see all three doctors and the sonographer. We are able to supply most of the patients with the necessary medications.

     Mrs Gayaneh gives away all the clothes. All day we hear blessings and thanks, and some patients bring us toot oghi (a homemade vodka specific to that village).

     The doctors take a half-hour lunch break. The car radio is on, so why not dance? With sandwiches in hand, we dance with the nurses, doctors, volunteers, and some villagers under a walnut tree. I cannot express the feeling of joy and gratitude that has overcome us.

     At the end of the day, back at home, the doctors are in tears, the volunteers satisfied and ready to help another village next year.

*****

      This wonderful adventure would not have been possible without the hard work of Watertown High School’s Armenian Club students.

     Through organizing dances, selling goods, preparing bake sales, and holding fund-raisers, they found the money to pay for the medical care and supplies in Karahunge.

     Siran Tamakian and I worked with the students to help them organize these events, and we are both very proud of their accomplishments.

      We will be fully supporting them again as they raise more funds during this school year to sponsor health care in yet another village.

     These students have a whole village grateful for their hard work and patriotism!

–Oct. 3, 2014–