ARTS AND CRAFTS CENTER FOR THE DISABLED CREATED THROUGH SUPPORT FROM VIVACELL
ArmInfo, Armenia
Oct 15 2007
ArmInfo. VivaCell, a subsidiary of Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (NYSE: MBT),
announces that Ms. Consuelo Vidal, UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia
and Mr. Ralph Yirikian, the General Manager of VivaCell officially
opened the new Arts and Crafts Center located at the premises of the
Armenian Association for the Disabled "Pyunic".
VivaCell Press Secretary Vahe Isahakyan told ArmInfo that the Arts
and Crafts Center is established within the framework of the Global
Compact Armenia, a corporate social responsibility arm of the United
Nations. A cooperative effort between VivaCell, UNDP and Armenian
Association for the Disabled "Pyunic" resulted in a brand new center in
Yerevan and Gyumri where disabled people can get new and/or alternative
skills in such traditional crafts as pottery, painting, embroidery,
wood carving, ceramics, stone carving, etc.
Under the supervision of professional trainers disabled people will
be making their own artwork and handicrafts to be sold at different
events, including a distributor of the items created at the Centers
to retail souvenir shops throughout Armenia, thus creating new
income generating scheme for them. VivaCell provided AMD 50 million
for the implementation of the project, with the aim to create the
above-mentioned new income generation schemes for the disabled of
Gyumri and Yerevan.
In addition to new income, the centers will provide an alternative way
of organizing leisure of the disabled, develop their problem solving
skills, discover relaxation techniques, and build self-confidence.