A Discovery That Changed Everything
I was never one to believe in destiny. But, as a famous Armenian proverb says, you cannot escape it.
Earlier this month, I randomly googled my mother's maiden name. In the search results, a name caught my eye: Charles Mooshian. I never met this man, my grandfather. He left our world more than 20 years before I entered it. Yet he is the sole reason I now live in Armenia. We were both passionate about communication, and when I write, I think of him.
Aregak Bakery: Armenia's first cafe to intentionally employ young adults with disabilities
Following a Legacy to Armenia
Charles represents 25 percent of who I am. And that 25 percent qualified me to volunteer through the Birthright Armenia program in 2018. Through Birthright, I discovered the Emili Aregak Center for young people with disabilities in Gyumri, Armenia's poorest city. After a year of volunteering, I now work there as Development and Communications Officer.
Our center's mission is to promote the inclusion of youth with support needs in mainstream Armenian society through therapy, socialization, training, and labor market integration. We also run Aregak Bakery, the first cafe in Armenia to intentionally employ young adults with disabilities.
Two Advocates, Separated by Time
When I clicked on my grandfather's name in the search results, a passage from a 65-year-old e-book appeared. I was thunderstruck. My Armenian grandfather promoted inclusive employment practices in America, and now his American granddaughter is in Armenia doing the same. We are two communications specialists who never met, linked by blood and a cause, yet separated by time and space.
A closer look revealed it was the May 1954 edition of the publication "The President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities." As I scrolled through the pages, I read about a nationwide effort in which my grandfather had played a major role at the state level: integrating people with disabilities into the American workforce.
Youth thriving at Aregak Bakery and the TalkTools tools supporting their speech therapy
The Power of Showing, Not Just Telling
Through conversations with my mother, I learned more about my grandfather's life. He was friends with William Fulbright and Douglas MacArthur, and had monthly meetings with President Dwight Eisenhower during his time on the President's Committee. Both his Christian faith and his business acumen drove his work for people with disabilities.
His inclusive employment PR campaigns portrayed people with disabilities as an important resource that employers were overlooking. His interview-style radio and TV show, "Can You Use Me?", was an innovative way to broadcast the skills of unemployed people through on-screen interviews.
In his 1953 article "Films on People with Disabilities," he wrote about the power of film to inspire change. One line struck a deep chord in me: "Showing what people with disabilities can do is far more important than the mere telling of it." That insight calls to mind the hashtag we use at Aregak Bakery: #SeeThisAbility.
Where TalkTools Comes In
At both Emili Aregak Center and Aregak Bakery, we care deeply about showing our community that children and youth with disabilities can thrive. To do that, we invest in the therapies and trainings that cultivate their natural capabilities to the greatest extent possible.
In December, our speech therapist Margarita told me she needed logopedic tools to help our children with support needs make even greater progress. When I discovered TalkTools, I was able to connect Margarita with equipment she would never have found in Armenia, including the TalkTools Spinner and Toothies.
Every day, I am grateful for my work, for the children we serve, and for the companies and people who create meaningful solutions to help these kids thrive. Let's continue to #SeeTheAbility in disability.