Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Principal: Sahag Dedeyan
Founded: 1931

How it all started
Many Armenian refugees fleeing from the massacres in Turkey settled in camps on the outskirts of Beirut. Conditions in some areas were appalling. These people lacked medical care and sanitation, and large families were crowded together in ramshackle shelters. In 1931, an Armenian family visiting the country from America saw the needs and was convinced that the best way to help was through education. The school they helped to start was called the Armenian Evangelical Guertmenian School.

The Principal, Sahag Dedeyan, has shepherded the school for over 30 years.

Current activities
The School began with three kindergarten and three primary classes, but over the years has increased to six primary classes, with about 400 students, after which many of the children, at the age of 12 or 13, go on to one of the Armenian Evangelical secondary schools also supported by BibleLands.

The children come from local Armenian families and travel daily to school.  They study the usual government curriculum, with the additional emphasis of their Armenian culture, history and language.  Because of the high level of unemployment in the area, the School only asks for nominal fees from the children’s parents. 

 Although the civil war in Lebanon finished before these children were born, the long-lasting effects of the war still reach down to their generation.  Homes were damaged and family members killed or injured.  Years of tension have affected most families and many parents are unemployed.  The School itself also suffered damage during the civil war, the worst time being in 1978 when the Armenian quarter came under heavy bombardment.  Not only was the building badly damaged, but much of the furniture and equipment was stolen.  Despite the trauma of the war, and the economic difficulties of the following years, the School has remained a place where poor Armenian children can receive a good quality, Christian education.