PRESS RELEASE
September 20, 2010
Armenian Volunteer Corps
Contact: Sharistan Melkonian
37 Hanrapetutyan
Yerevan, Armenia
(374 10) 54 00 37
[email protected]
AVC VOLUNTEERS FOSTER SERVICE, LEADERSHIP, AND COMMUNITY IN ARMENIA
Yerevan, Armenia -Former US President Ronald Reagan once said “No matter how
big and powerful government gets, and the many services it provides, it can
never take the place of volunteers.” US President Barack Obama recently
concurred: “The need for action always exceeds the limits of government.”
The Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC) wholeheartedly agrees and apparently so
do the volunteers who come to Armenia from all over the world.
Forty three volunteers, from 21-55 years of age, came to Armenia this summer
from Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Greece, United Kingdom, France, Jordan, and
the United States. They served in governmental, private and non-profit
sectors including, but not limited to, Gyumri IT Center, Historic Armenian
Houses, Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets,
Gyumri Healthy Center, Caritas Armenia, Civilitas Foundation, Manana Youth
Center, TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, Erebuni Hospital, ReAnimania
Yerevan International Animation Film Festival, National Competitiveness
Foundation, Journalists Club Asparez, Shirak Regional Museum of Archeology,
Center for Health Services Research, American University of Armenia, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic, and the list
goes on.
Shogher Demirdjian-Jabrayan, 30, and Nayiri Panossian, 28, both teachers,
spent their summers here in Yerevan teaching English. Shogher spent seven
weeks at the Mascedan Foreign Languages Educational Centre and the Pyunic
Association for the Disabled teaching summer school, while Nayiri spent six
weeks teaching a class to AYB Educational Foundation students and
volunteered at a summer youth program. In addition to their specific
volunteer placements, they jointly organized and facilitated a “Building
Thematic Units” workshop for Armenian teachers.
Twenty-three year old Amaras Zargarian, a 2008 graduate of the University of
California, Berkeley, volunteered at the State Hygienic and Antiepidemic
Inspectorate, the Shirak Competitiveness Center and the Artsakank
kindergarten in Gyumri. In addition to her volunteer placements, Zargarian
organized all of her fellow Gyumri-based volunteers in a day of beautifying
and cleaning the Artsakank kindergarten to prepare for the start of the
school year. Volunteers cleaned the grounds, planted flowers, and painted
the children’s playhouse.
Amaras’ brother, Amasia Zargarian, 22, a graduate student at Stanford
University, served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic, where he worked on, among other things, a project to
bring Diasporan youth in closer ties with Artsakh.
“Karabakh has a lot of potential but can also benefit from hands on
assistance, says Amasia. “As an unrecognized state, the NKR misses out on
much of the benefits that other countries enjoy, and therefore, an
individual’s contribution can be of much more significance. By attracting
Diasporans, Karabakh can fill in many strategic gaps. To this end,
volunteers like me establish a connection with the place that will bring us
back later when we have more to contribute, while older more experienced
professionals can bring the expertise and skills that are vital for
Karabakh’s development. The challenge lies in identifying what these crucial
needs are and matching them with the individuals who can help. AVC put my
skills to good use in Karabagh.”
Twenty-two year old Alexandra Achkarian from Toronto volunteered with
Armenian Caritas in Gyumri where, among other things, she helped develop a
volunteer guidebook. She found that volunteering extended beyond the doors
of her placement. “My work experience was not just about gaining skills in
my area of expertise and lending a hand to my workplace but it was a give
and take between peers who were learning about each others’ culture and way
of life,” Alexandra said. “My experience was more than I expected and could
have asked for. It was humbling and rewarding while it also changed my view
on volunteerism at the same time. There need not be a material outcome from
your efforts as a volunteer; it may show itself as a change within you, a
change within someone else or simply a learning experience. Mine was a bit
of all of those.”
Nouny Benchimol from France, 21, is an Agronomy student. She volunteered at
the Center for Agribusiness and Rural Development (CARD) visiting farms
around Armenia to help small farms increase food production. Nouny, who had
volunteered on a farm in France last year, decided to volunteer in Armenia
to study the animal breeding practices in Armenia first hand. But, this was
also an important journey of self discovery – her grandfather is Armenian.
“I have always wanted to learn about my Armenian origins,” says Benchimol.
Alis Nini, 27, of Greece, and Jirair Garabedian, 21, from Vancouver, both
volunteered with KASSart Studio helping to prepare for ReAnimania’s Second
International Animation Film Festival held earlier this month. Alis helped
with outreach and Jirair put his animation background to use.
Rebecca Kandilian, 22, a PhD student in pharmacy at the University of
California at Santa Barbara, volunteered with the Foundation for the
Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC). For eight weeks she
traveled across Armenia with FPWC staff on a “Green Bus.” Actually, the bus
was white covered with colorful children’s paintings. But, the bus was fixed
with environmental educational materials and the team, including Rebecca,
helped to raise awareness for conservation and recycling by setting up
children’s activities in villages throughout Armenia.
Twenty-seven year old Selin Sookiasians is a Special Education teacher in
Los Angeles. She spent seven weeks volunteering at the Endanik Youth
Creative Center and the Huys orphanage in Gyumri. “Maybe I shouldn’t have
had any expectations, but this experience was beyond any expectation that I
ever had,” said Selin. “Volunteering and being exposed to so many
experiences was simply amazing.”
In addition, this fall, AVC launched a Teach program. Talin Aghanian from
the United Kingdom will be teaching English to middle and high school
students for one full school year in one of Armenia’s schools. Talin arrived
in August to participate in three days of training which included an
opportunity to meet and talk with local teachers.
AVC was founded in 2000 to serve Armenia through volunteerism. Almost 300
volunteers have served in 200 organizations throughout Armenia. The
organization’s volunteer program is completely flexible. Once accepted,
volunteers determine their time and term of service. AVC accepts
applications 365 days per year from individuals at least 21 years of age.
For more information about AVC please visit
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Alexandra Achkarian from Toronto at Caritas Armenia
AVC volunteers Nayiri Panossian (USA) and Shogher Demirdjian-Jabrayan
(Canada) facilitating an English language teacher training
Nouny Benchimol (France) milking cows
Amasia Zargarian (USA) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic
From: A. Papazian