PRESS RELEASE
"Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund
Governmental Building 3, Yerevan, RA
Contact: Anush Babayan
Tel: 3741 52 09 40
Fax: 3741 52 37 95
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
The Armenia Fund Benefactor Visits Ditavan Community
Yerevan, 19 October, 2007. On October 16 The Armenia Fund Executive Director
Vahe Aghabegians accompanied by the Rural Development Program staff and
Armen Ekserciyan (Argentina) made a working trip to the Khashtarak cluster’s
Ditavan community. Mr. Ekserciyan is interested in sponsoring the
infrastructure component of the Rural Development Program in Ditavan.
In Ditavan, the working group had a meeting with the mayor and community
members. They also visited the school and village households. The aim was to
hear a maximum amount of different voices, discuss and determine the
infrastructural priorities for the people of Ditavan. The community shares
the basic infrastructural problems with all the other border villages: no
road, no gas, no water, etc.
While the opinions varied on the second project to be undertaken in the
community, the primary concern for the villagers was the absence of natural
gas. With the winter fast approaching, the villagers will once again face
the challenge of heating their homes and the school with wood which is
equally labor demanding and damaging for the surroundings.
Thus, the building of a three kilometer gas pipeline to the village was
singled out as the initial infrastructural project in the village. At the
same time, both Mr. Aghabegians and Mr. Ekserciyan underlined that the
development or renovation of one single branch of infrastructure is not a
universal remedy for the villagers’ problems. The solution lies in parallel
infrastructural and economic development. Only that approach can guarantee
the long term impact of the program.
"We need to work together to find the solution. We need to see the bigger
picture, where every improvement fits organically into the general idea of
the development of the village and the region as whole", said Mr.
Aghabegians.
"This is a difficult task and a task that only the community members can
accomplish. On our part, we will do everything we can to help you succeed",
said Mr. Ekserciyan.
Next day, Mr. Ekserciyan visited the Alishan LTD food processing plant,
which is contributing to the economic development component of the Program
by providing a ready market for the produce grown in the Khashtarak cluster
villages. Mr. Ekserciyan and Alishan LTD’s Serjik Movsisian talked about the
coordination of economic facilitation and infrastructure development
projects.
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Hayastan All-Armenian Fund
Public Relations Department