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On November 20, the RA NA Speaker Ara Babloyan and the Mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan visited N 92 Inclusive Kindergarten of Malatia-Sebastia administrative district. The visit was paid by Ara Babloyan’s initiative.

The Head of the parliament and the Mayor took a tour in the kindergarten, got acquainted with the conditions created for the children with development delays and talked with the members of the multi-professional team. The kindergarten received 42 children with the need of special conditions: with light, medium and hard development problems.

During the tour the Head of the legislative body introduced the Mayor with the multifunctional inclusive kindergarten model. According to Ara Babloyan, the early disclosure of the health problems and intervention is one of the most important components of protection of children’s rights, which provides the best result. He has underlined that in such kindergartens the children get education, care and appropriate medical aid, which facilitates the further organization of the education in the inclusive schools and the achievement of professional skills, providing the continuity of the process.

Being one of the initiators and propagators of the multi-functional inclusive kindergarten model in Armenia, in this process Ara Babloyan highlighted the inter-departmental cooperation, combining the health care, educational, social, as well as community structures’ efforts.

The members of the multi-functional team and those responsible for the sphere have underscored the efficiency of the program, noting that other countries are also interested in the experience of using the model.

The Mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan highly assessed the necessity of similar kindergartens in the development of the children’s capabilities. According to him, it gives an opportunity to the children to get integrated into the society. The Mayor emphasized the creation of such institutions in the capital, stating that in the first phase they could establish them in 4 districts of Yerevan, extending the network in the future.

The representatives of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund /UNICEF/ Armenia Office and the Arabkir United Children’s Charity Foundation (UCCF) supported the implementation of the idea.

The RA First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arsen Manukyan, the Head of the Department on the Problems of Family, Women and Children of the Ministry Geghanush Gyunashyan, Members of the Council of Elders of Yerevan Pavel Mazmanyan and Sergey Sargsyan, the Head of the UNICEF Educational Program Division Alvard Poghosyan and the Deputy Director of the Arabkir United Children’s Charity Foundation Shushan Davtyan took part in the tour.