This month, Therapists For Armenia proudly celebrates its fifth anniversary, honoring a journey to sustainably strengthen rehabilitation and disability services in  Armenia and Artsakh. 

Founded in 2019 by Armineh Babikian, TFA sprang from a powerful belief: that everyone in Armenia deserves access to high quality care and support. With a handful of volunteers, the organization embarked on its mission to make international connections, strengthen service delivery, fight disability stigma, and help our Armenian communities thrive. 

Half a decade later, TFA has blossomed into a thriving force in the community with a team of many skilled professionals in the fields of occupational, speech and language and physical therapy. As TFA celebrates this milestone, it does so with immense gratitude for the supporters, and volunteers, who have fueled its growth. 

Over the past 5 years TFA has led several humanitarian efforts, including sending volunteers to support wounded soldiers during the 2020 Artsakh War, creating the first resource library for rehabilitation providers in Armenia, donating therapeutic equipment to the National Burn Center to support patients from the 2023 Artsakh gas-station explosion, and co-founding the first Armenian post-professional program focused on post-conflict and adult rehabilitation. This past summer, we reached another milestone- hosting our first service and learning trip to Armenia with 5 volunteers from the US. Most recently, we have also become a Project ECHO partner, bringing their evidence-based virtual model for training and mentorship to Armenia for the first time.

Check out this video for a short glimpse into our work! 

We are so excited to continue TFA’s growth and support rehabilitation needs in our community.

TFA founder & director, Armineh Babikian, was an invited panelist at the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) Annual Assembly in San Diego, CA to present at the session titled “Humanitarian Rehabilitation in Conflict Zones: Lessons Learned and Future Strategies.” She was joined by fellow speakers who were engaged in humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and Haiti. She presented on the development of Armenian rehabilitation services, the Artsakh conflict from 2020- present, and the humanitarian and developments that were led and supported by Therapists for Armenia.

Babikian reflects, “I was a bit nervous honestly. I was the only one in the group who was not a medical doctor and not presenting on Ukraine. But I spoke my truth and my passion. Many people expressed learning about the conflict for the first time and wanted to support. I’m grateful for the opportunity to advocate and share perspectives from allied health and Armenian rehabilitation.”

We are very proud of Armineh and her continuous efforts to not only strengthen Armenian rehabilitation but also spread awareness.

TFA founding director, Armineh Babikian (Canada), and IRF fellow, Tatev Ghazaryan (Armenia), presented at the 1st Occupational Therapy Europe Congress 2024 in Krakow, Poland. This congress brought together all European organizations dealing with occupational therapy.  This was the only presentation about occupational therapy in Armenia.

Babikian and Ghazaryan’s presentation titled “Experiences of Armenian Rehabilitation Therapists in Implementing the ICF for Disability Determination” discussed the preliminary results of an ongoing research project looking the involvement of occupational therapists in the new disability determination process launched in Armenia in 2023. This research stemmed from Ghazaryan and colleague’s capstone project while participating in the NIH Armenia Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Fellowship (IRF), co-founded by TFA in 2022.  

While the entire research team was not able to be present at the Congress, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of Lara Iskandaryan (Armenia), IRF Fellow and occupational therapist, and Mark Kovic, occupational therapy professor at Midwestern University (Illinois, USA).