AFI: Hadrut Region, Nagorno Karabakh: Construction In Full Swing

Armenia Fund, Inc.
111 North Jackson St. Ste. 205
Glendale, CA 91206

Tel: 818-243-6222
Fax: 818-243-7222
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PRESS RELEASE
Contact ~ Sarkis Kotanjian
[email protected]

Armenia Fund Projects: For Armenia. Forever.

Hadrut Region, Nagorno Karabakh: Construction In Full Swing

Armenia Fund is pleased to announce that construction continues on
several components of the Hadrut Regional Development Plan. The program
calls for the revitalization of healthcare facilities, schools, water
pipelines for drinking and irrigation purposes, as well as agricultural
development. Thanks to Armenia Fund’s Telethon 2006, funding was secured
for the projects.

The construction of the critically important water pipelines is well
underway. A 21.8km pipeline from the Archi Spring will deliver drinking
water to the residents of the city of Hadrut. The plan also envisions
the reconstruction of the city wells, as well as the distribution
reservoir. The Ishkhaneget River water will be filtered and treated to
ensure it meets health and safety standards. The water from the river
will be delivered to Mets Taghlar, Azokh, and Drakhtik villages through
a specialized gravity flow system. Thanks to this system, more than 2700
residents in the aforementioned communities will enjoy a constant,
reliable supply of water.

A new village school will be constructed in the Hakaku Village through
funding provided by Armenia Fund U.S. Western Region. AGBU
Manoogian-Demirdjian School of Canoga Park, California led a major
fundraising effort for the Hakaku School in the months preceding the
Telethon resulting in a record breaking $115,000 USD. The old school in
Hakaku will be demolished. However, its present site will not be used
because the ground soil has been determined to be unsafe due to
landslides common in the area. Armenia Fund hired a group of experts,
who in cooperation with local government agencies, conducted a
meticulous soil survey in the village. The group has already determined
the safest, reliable location for the Hakaku Village School.
Construction will begin this month and the new school will be completed
before classes begin in September.

3 New Schools for Martakert Region, Nagorno Karabakh

Armenia Fund recently completed 2 school projects in Martakert. The
Madaghis Village School was recently completed, as well as the
renovation of a kindergarten in Haterk. By September 2007, the
construction of Kochoghot and Verin Horatagh Village Schools will be
completed as well.

Prior to the completion of the Madaghis School, students from the
village used to attend classes in rusty mobile homes. Thanks to funding
provided by Armenia Fund’s Toronto, Canada affiliate, the three floor
modern school with adjacent restroom facilities and a boiler house was
constructed. The $264,000 USD school will accommodate 120 students.

A similar three-floor building will open its doors for the
schoolchildren of Kochoghot this coming September. Currently a run-down
building with no heating systems serves the village as a school. With
generous funding from the Fund’s French affiliate – Fonds Armenien de
France – the first two floors and the basement of the school building
were completed. The French affiliate will furnish the school upon its
completion. Furnishing will be provided in partnership with the
government of the City of St. Etienne (France).

The construction of the school building in Verin Horatagh is also being
funded by the Canadian affiliate of the Fund. The new, three-floor
building will soon replace the decaying village school built in the
1930s. Ever since there has not been any form of standardized maintenance.

Nork-Marash Hospital Stage II Underway

On May 7, 2007, the second stage reconstruction of the Nork-Marash
Infectious Diseases Hospital in Yerevan started. By the end of 2007, the
second and third floors of the hospital, as well as the roof will be
completely renovated. The boiler house and heating system for those
units will also be completed as part of the reconstruction plan. These
presently dilapidated units, along with its medical laboratory, serve up
to 3000 patients a year. The project is generously sponsored by the
Fund’s Brazilian affiliate – Fundo Armenia do Brasil.

Since 2004, Armenia Fund has been reconstructing the Nork-Marash
Hospital. In 2006, the first stage was successfully completed – a
gleaming, modern first floor that is capable of catering to thousands of
patients per year. In March 2007, through a special partnership with
Armenia Fund, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the
Embassy of Brazil in Yerevan funded the hospital’s heating system
through the construction of a modern boiler house.

Dr. Ara Asoyan, Chief Specialist and Director of the Hospital, stated,
`Thanks to Armenia Fund’s ongoing support, the hospital stands to
provide constant, compliant healthcare to patients. This is extremely
critical as this is the largest hospital in the Republic that
specializes in infectious diseases. More than 5,000 patients visit us on
a yearly basis’.

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