On September 17, the pupils of the Armenian Sunday school of Astana and their teachers and parents were hosted at the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Kazakhstan. As reported Director of the Armenian Sunday School of Astana Haiastan Mneyan to Hayern Aysor, the news about the lesson of RA Ambassador to Kazakhstan Ara Sahakyan devoted to Independence Day had spread by word-of-mouth and had gathered everyone at the embassy. The attendees had come to listen to a true story about the difficult path that the Armenians took to achieve independence and take a look back at the decisive stages in the history of the Armenian people. The Ambassador highlighted the undisputed role that Armenian families and the Armenian Sunday school play in the preservation of the Armenian language and identity. Afterwards, the attendees listened to performances of Armenian patriotic songs and poems devoted to Armenia. The children recited the poems with so much feeling that it seemed as though they were taking an oath to be loyal to the mother language and the Mother Homeland. The gathered received the youngest student, Goharik Katvalyan with warm rounds of applause after she performed the Armenian alphabet song “Ayb, Ben, Gim”.

During the lesson, the pupils also answered questions related to Armenian history, culture and Armenia’s geography, while the active participants received incentives from the Ambassador. There were also games and trivia games. What is a celebration without a festive table? The Armenian embassy had taken care of this as well and hosted a “tasty” reception for the children. The school’s administration hadn’t come empty-handed either. They congratulated each other on Holy Cross Day (one of the holidays of the Armenian holiday calendar) and donated beautiful Armenian crosses to all the children.

The children and their parents were content. One of the parents, Larisa Soghoyan, stated that the lesson was so impressive that it seemed to her that they were on a two-hour visit to Armenia. It was a very instructive and effective lesson. We left the embassy in a great mood. We thank the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia and Ambassador Sahakyan personally.