Author: Babajanian Karo

Army General Command: Security and stability restored to Kassab city

Jun 15, 2014

Damascus, (SANA) General Command of the Army and the Armed Forces said
in a statement that after eliminating scores of terrorist gangs and
inflicting heavy losses on them, units of the Syrian Arab Army, in
cooperation with the National Defense forces, restored security and
stability to Kassab city in Lattakia’s northern countryside after a
series of accurate and successful operations in which control was
tightened on al-Nabin town and the surrounding areas.

The statement pointed out the importance of this achievement in terms
of the geographic location of Kassab and “It smashes the illusions of
the aggression and its tools of securing a marine port and
establishing a buffer zone along the borders with Turkey that forms a
base for launching terrorist acts against the Syrian people”

This achievement adds up to the victories achieved by the Syrian
people, army and leadership in countering terrorism, the statement
noted.

The statement said that deterring terrorism from Kassab city is a
decisive blow to the terrorists and their supporters, stressing
General command’s commitment to pursue terrorist groups until security
and stability are restored to every inch of the homeland.

F.Allafi

Syrian forces expel rebels from Christian town of Kessab on Turkish border
June 15, 2014 20:31

The Syrian military has recaptured the strategically important border
town of Kessab. The predominantly Christian-Armenian town was overrun
by jihadist rebels in March, with much blame placed on Turkey for
reportedly allowing the crossover to happen.

Syrian armed forces have been carrying out systematic assaults on the
Al-Nusra Front and associated rebel positions across several
provinces, including northern Lattakia, where control was
reestablished on Saturday. The army seized weapons and ammunition and
took out dozens of terrorists in the operation, mostly non-Syrians,
according to SANA news agency.

The jihadists withdrew from Kessab `leaving behind only a small number
of men,’ according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Tanks
were deployed in the surrounding areas and government forces
eventually closed in on militants’ positions.

The jihadist groups were reportedly pushed back toward the Jabal al-Akrad area.

On March 21, extremists affiliated with Al-Qaeda seized the town of
Kessab after clashes with Syrian government troops and local
self-defense squads. This was to become part of a long-winded
diplomatic crisis involving Turkey, Syria, and Armenia, as the
jihadists had reportedly crossed into Syria from Turkey.

The Armenian government called on the UN to protect Kessab, evoked the
Armenian genocide of 1915, and accused Turkey of allowing jihadists to
cross the border to attack Kessab, blaming it for the civilian deaths.
Moscow also joined calls at the UNSC to evaluate the situation and
offer solutions on how to protect the some 2,000 Christian Armenians
that inhabit Kessab.

Ankara slammed any accusations of its complicity and condemned the
allegations as `confrontational political propaganda,’ although Turkey
downed a Syrian military jet on March 23, just ahead of an escalation
in tensions between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and
Development Party (AKP) and the Syrian government. Turkey claimed the
jet was violating its airspace.

In response, Damascus accused Ankara of `blatant aggression,’ saying
the fighter jet had been over Syria. The Syrian pilot said a Turkish
aircraft fired a missile at him while he was pursuing jihadist
militants within Syrian territories, SANA news agency reported.

Although the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has been caught
several times in the past in the act of supporting the rebels and
largely taking up a stance against the Syrian government, it likewise
disagreed with the statement released by Ankara in the aftermath of
the downing of the Syrian jet.

Finally, on March 27, a leaked phone conversation between top Turkish
officials discussing the options for manufacturing a pretext for a
military invasion of Syria appeared on YouTube, leaving little doubt
as to how little Turkey was willing to hold back when it came to
engaging the Assad government.

Theories on the invasion of Kessab by terrorists center largely on
Erdogan allowing the border crossover to take place. It is a
strategically important area because of its geographical location near
the only border crossing with Turkey in the shaky Lattakia province,
which is the heartland of the Alawite sect, of which Assad is a
member.

March violence brought with it the loss of the last functioning border
crossing with Turkey, when jihadists won it over from the Syrian
government.

Assyrian International News Agency AINA
June 15 2014

Syrian Regime Forces Push Into Town on Turkish Border

Posted 2014-06-15 17:44 GMT

Syrian regime forces have pushed into Kasab, a village on the border
with Turkey, a monitoring group and state media said.

The withdrawal of most rebel forces from the village – including some
linked to al Qaeda – is another blow to an opposition that has been
undermined by recent gains by Assad’s forces and by infighting.

A number of fighters stayed behind in Kasab after the departure of
most of the rebels, who included fighters from the al Qaeda-linked
Nusra Front, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said late on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, Syrian state television said government forces had
“restored stability and security” to Kasab and engineering teams were
removing mines and explosives planted by “terrorist gangs,” the
government’s customary term for rebels.

The Observatory said clashes in the area continued from around
midnight on Saturday night, but did not give casualty figures.

Syrian regime forces were assisted by the Lebanese Shi’ite militia
Hezbollah as well as fighters of Syrian and foreign nationality, the
Observatory said.

Rebel forces had taken Kasab, a majority Armenian Christian village,
in March, the first time they were able to capture a settlement on the
Mediterranean coast. One of Assad’s cousins, a militia commander, was
killed in fighting in the area.

Syria Radio & TV, Syria
June 15 2014

Armenian President congratulates President al-Assad on re-election

Cables congratulating President Bashar al-Assad for victory in
presidential vote continued to pour in from heads of states, as well
as official and public figures and parties.

More recently, President al-Assad received a congrtualatory cable from
Armeninan President Serzh Sargsyan wishing him success and the
friendly Syrian people enduring peace.

The Armenian president hoped, in his cable, that Syria will manage to
restore security and stabilty for the prosperity and wellbeing of the
Syrian people.

President al-Assad won by a ladslide in presidential elections held on
June 3, having garnered 88.7 of the votes cast, handing him a new
7-year term in office.

Meanwhile, President al-Assad received cables from Arab and
international bodies, with the senders congratulating the Syrian
people for their collective decision and sovereign will that was made
clear through the freedom and democracy that marked the elections.

Syria, led by President al-Assad, is edging closer towards a future
that will see peace and stability prevail, a confident note expressed
in the cables.

The cables came from the executive committee of the International
Mihai Aaminescu Academy, the European Mihai Aaminescu Foundation in
Romania, People’s Unity Party of Afghanistan, the Palestine Liberation
Army (PLA) Staff, as well as the league of the Sudanese who graduated
from Syrian universities and institutes.

SYRIA
The army retook the city Kessab border of Turkey

Damascus, June 15, 2014 (AFP) – The Syrian army rebels resumed Sunday
the city Armenian majority Kassab (north-west), near a strategic
border crossing with Turkey, announced on state television.

“The army units restore security and stability in the town of Kassab
in the province of Latakia after killing a large number of terrorists
and destroyed their weapons,” said the chain, with reference to the
insurgents who controlled the city for more than two months.

Beirut, June 14, 2014 (AFP ) – The rebels and their allies of
al-Nosra Front (Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda) withdrew Saturday “Kassab”,
a border city of Turkey they had conquered in March , reported the
Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (OSDH).

“Most fighters of al-Nosra Front and Islamic brigades withdrew from
Kassab, leaving behind a small number of fighters,” said the OSDH.

Government forces for their part sent tanks into neighboring
villages, signaling an imminent conquest of the city by the army. This
retreat occurred while “regime’s troops supported by men of Hezbollah
and other Arab and Asian fighters had advanced (in the neighboring
village) Nabaein” according to the OSDH.

The information has been confirmed by opposition activists claimed
that the fighters of Al-Nosra and rebel brigades had retreated to the
rebel strongholds in the region of Jabal al-Akrad, near Kassab.

The Armenian community of Kassab is strategic because it is located
near the single border crossing with Turkey in the province of
Latakia, a stronghold of the Alawite community belongs President
Bashar al-Assad.

When the border post Kassab fell to rebels in March, he was the last
checkpoint on the border with Turkey still operational in the hands of
the regime.

Editor’s note : Contrary to the AFP on the basis of the OSDH, the
customs post, located 6 km from Kessab, was only a pretext to attack
by Al Front -Nosra, because it is not strategic. As Fabrice Ballanche
(Director of Group Research and Studies on the Mediterranean and the
Middle East) said in the dossier on the Kessab # 207 Armenian News
Magazine, ” Turkey closed the border since months and the traffic was
almost nil since the beginning of the Syrian crisis. Moreover, the
customs Kessab has never been very important: daily bus between
Antioch and Latakia and a few cars. It is no comparison Bab el Awa or
Azaz. In addition, the rebels did not need Kessab to bring weapons in
Syria, they control the entire Urdu ATHMA border, northeast of Idleb,
or 200 km.

Another strategic objective was put forward by the OSDH: wearing Samra
(Kaladouran), which give the rebels access to the sea in Syrian
territory, to be refueled in arms and ammunition. Samra’s famous port
is a small harbor where fishing boats moored a few, we are far from a
strategic infrastructure. And why the rebels would they need access to
the sea 100 meters from the Turkish border, then they receive safe all
the equipment they need via Turkey? Finally, we presented the attack
as a prelude to a major offensive on the coastal region and Latakia,
the stronghold of the Alawite community. This last argument does not
hold either. They could very well do it from their two strongholds in
the region: Jebel Jebel Akrad and Turkmen. Moreover, they know that
they will not take the Alawite territory very well defended by the
army and the population itself, which has everything to fear from
jihadists. “Moreover, as is recalled in Fabrice Ballanche an analysis
to be published in the July No. of NAM, ” three months after taking
Kessab the rebels had not yet advanced to Latakia, on the contrary,
they were confined in the village of Kessab, having abandoned the
valley the Kaladouran and Chalma heights . ” This attack of the last
Armenian village in the region therefore proceeded well a willingness
of ethnic cleansing carried out with at least downstream of Turkey.

Plan of attack against Kessab by Fabrice Ballanche
Sunday, June 15, 2014,
Ara © armenews.com

DIPLOMATIE ARMENIENNE
L’ambassade de Suède a ouvert ses portes à Yerevan

Une nouvelle ambassade vient d’ouvrir ses portes à Yerevan. Il s’agit
de l’ambassade de Suède. L’inauguration de cette ambassade de la
capitale arménienne s’est déroulée en présence d’Edouard Nalbandian le
chef de la diplomatie arménienne et d’Eva Bjorling la ministre
suédoise du Commerce. Peu avant cette cérémonie inaugurale, le
ministre arménien des Affaires étrangères avait reçu Eva Bjorling.
Edouard Nalbandian avait lors de cet entretien, noté l’importance pour
l’Arménie de fonder cette ambassade de Suède qui contribuera au
développement des relations commerciales, économiques, politiques et
culturelles entre l’Arménie et le royaume de Suède. La ministre
suédoise était venue à Yerevan avec une délégation d’homme d’affaires.
La diplomate suédoise a remercié Edouard Nalbandian pour l’accueil
réservé par l’Arménie à la délégation suédoise et affirmé l’aide
diplomatique que la Suède apportera à l’Arménie et soutiendra
l’Arménie pour le renforcement de ses relations avec l’Union
européenne.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 15 juin 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

Daily Sabah, Turkey
June 14 2014

THE GREATEST FAILURE OF THE AK PARTY

Etyen Mahçupyan 14 June 2014, Saturday

It is an indisputable fact that the Justice and Development Party (AK
Party) is one of the most successful governments of the last century.
However, we should not forget that the same government has failed on
one particular subject.

We can enumerate the accomplishments of this government at length. In
the last decade, Turkey has seen significant economic gains, better
infrastructure, health, education and urbanization. At the same time,
military tutelage has been downgraded and some important steps have
been made to give the judiciary a pluralist structure. The AK Party
government has acted more courageously on Turkey’s primary concerns,
those that in the past have been significant stumbling blocks. Thanks
to the reconciliation initiative, today we are heading toward a
solution on the Kurdish question. Similarly in the case of the
Armenians, an unmitigated condolence, which was beyond imagination in
the past, has been offered to them.

In the face of this unprecedented performance, there is an
unconvincing opposition that tries to manipulate ErdoÄ?an’s
challenging, tough line and almost baseless argument of “press
freedom.” However, this clear imbalance of power between the two does
not eliminate the fact that the AK Party is the most unsuccessful
government in one particular subject, more unsuccessful than anyone
else in the history of the Republic; this subject is the Western
world’s perception of their own party.

The world sees Turkey as a non-EU candidate and views the Turkish
people as a society living isolated from the world. So far, none of
the AK Party governments have realized how the subject has been
mishandled and even worse, no one in the party has seen what harm
ignoring the issue has done. All of this has happened in a period in
which globalism has intensified and become widespread. The AK Party
discerned that globalism would give them the ability to intervene in
the external world; however, it did not anticipate that the same
globalism would make the country so transparent in front of the outer
world.

In fact, transparency is not only a principle of administration, but
also the grounds of a new public sphere which needs administration. We
are going through a period in which perceptions are manipulated more
easily and the AK Party seems to have difficulty in fathoming this
reality.

Let’s look at a simple example: There are offshoots of the Republican
People’s Party (CHP), Turkish Industry and Business Association
(TÃ`SÄ°AD) and the Gülen Movement in Brussels, which is the heart of the
EU, and all of them are quite active there. However, the AK Party has
made a move only this year to open a branch there. Opening a bureau
alone may not yield return. Furthermore, if this bureau is mismanaged
and if they cannot adopt a discourse appealing to the Westerners,
current perception may worsen further.

The AK Party government had better break the assumption that its
positive actions will be appreciated somehow. The question of Turkey
is an internal matter of Europe and also of the U.S. due to the
relations with Israel and the Middle East. Therefore, it will be
reasonable to expect that Westerners have an objective viewpoint on
Turkey.

It is never surprising that Western actors are trying to create a
picture of Turkey as they want it to be. In that regard, a high number
of those who are irritated by a Turkey under the management of the AK
Party are apprehensive. Conversely, in the same Western world, there
are also people who want to understand what is happening in Turkey and
do not have a categorical sense of hostility against Turkey and
Islamic identity. If we are doomed to this increasingly globalized
atmosphere, we should not overlook that the AK Party has to appeal to
this section as well.

The key point about the issue is that the one who strives to explain
himself also has to look at himself from a critical perspective and
verbalize this sincerely. The AK Party has already shown its
self-confidence. Now it needs to display true courage to speak the
language of the world, and this will be for the benefit of the whole
country.

JON MEADE HUNTSMAN: THE CARTON KING WITH A BIG AMBITION: TO DIE BROKE

The Mormon billionaire who bought ICI Chemicals first went to work
on an egg, he tells Margareta Pagano

MARGARETA PAGANO Friday 13 June 2014

Well, here goes. The man behind the clam is Jon Meade Huntsman, a
big bear of an American from Idaho, who dreamt up the idea for the
clamshells after inventing some rather clever new plastic cartons for
eggs to stop them from breaking. After coming up with the Styrofoam
cartons for eggs in his thirties, it was only a matter of time before
he designed the packaging for Big Macs, moving on to making plastic
plates and all manner of useful things.

>From such inauspicious beginnings great fortunes are hatched. Today
Mr Huntsman heads the world’s biggest speciality chemicals company,
Huntsman Corporation, with revenues of $11bn (£6.5bn), 12,000 employees
and operations in 80 countries making chemicals, pigments and dyes
for the food, textiles, aerospace and drugs industries.

Huntsman makes thousands of different products that are used in
detergents as well as the new carbon-fibre chassis of the latest
Lamborghini Aventador. Only Araldite is branded.

All this makes Mr Huntsman one of the world’s wealthiest self-made
men as his family owns 20 per cent of Huntsman Corporation, valued at
$7bn on the NYSE. But he gives back, and is second only to Bill Gates
in the world for his generous philanthropy, giving more than a $1bn to
charity. He founded the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of
Utah with his wife, Karen, now one of the world’s pioneers in cancer
research with around 2,000 medical experts working on 200 different
cancers. He supports scholarships for one of his favourite projects
– educating the under-privileged – and has given more than $50m in
aid to Armenia and many more charities. He has said he wants to die
“broke” by giving away everything to charity.

Mr Huntsman is 77 next week. He has survived cancer himself four times
and suffers from a rare skin disease. Yet here he is holding court in
a rather ordinary suite on the eighth floor of the Park Tower Hotel
in Knightsbridge. And he is still wheeling and dealing. He has flown
over from the US to talk to his UK employees and to promote another
new venture, the stunning Huntsman Springs holiday resort in the Teton
Valley, close to Jackson’s Hole, where he also breeds white buffaloes.

What on earth makes him still going? “You know, I’ve been working
since I was a young boy. We lived in the most rural part of Idaho
where my father was a teacher; one of those schools where there were
only four teachers to the 12th grade. Life was tough, we had outside
plumbing and no money; I was picking potatoes when I was eight.

“In my teens I worked to help pay for my father’s studies at Stanford.

I decided then that I never wanted to depend on anyone or work for
anyone else but to be an entrepreneur. So I’ve been working and giving
all my life. In Vietnam I gave away some of my pay to families who
had less. It’s what I do and giving is part of my Mormon faith.”

It all started with the egg. After being funded through university, Mr
Huntsman went to work for his uncle at the egg-producing company Olson
Brothers in Los Angeles. They were losing money because so many eggs
broke during delivery – and that’s when he came up with the idea for
polystyrene cartons, setting up a joint venture with Dow Chemical to
develop the science. In 1970 he and his brother set up on their own; he
mortgaged his house and borrowed heavily from the banks. The clamshells
came in 1974, and from there he grew the business aggressively, buying
more than three dozen companies in one decade and taking on even more
debt. At one stage, the company’s borrowings were 15 times cash flow.

So you like to gamble, I suggest? “Oh yes, this was pure gambling.

But it was a risk I had to take to grow the company. Only one of the
companies I bought wasn’t good.”

If risk-taking is like breathing to him, then doing battle is what
he calls his “sport”.In 2008, long after he had retired as chief
executive, he took on the private equity group Apollo Management
after it backed out of a deal to buy out Huntsman. He won.

The company is now is run by Peter Huntsman, one of his nine children.

“I spend about half my time here and the rest on charitable work.

Don’t tell my shareholders,” he says, laughing.

They are unlikely to mind too much: Huntsman stock is trading at new
highs and business is looking up in the US, Europe and UK. “The media
doesn’t cover this but Europe is looking much brighter.”

So is the UK, where he employs 2,000, having bought ICI Chemicals
in 1999.

Business is booming in the US, but the political situation is bad:
“It’s a divided nation. I’ve never seen the political scene so
polarised. It never used to be like this: Republicans and Democrats
would argue badly but we would always work together. Not any more.”

He flirted with a political career after working as chief of staff
to President Nixon in his early thirties, but decided that the cut
and thrust of business was more to his liking than politics – he was
disappointed to discover that Nixon gave nothing to charity. Yet he
likes the company of politicians: the Thatchers were friends and came
to stay in Idaho (the stories he has to tell about Denis and why he
provided gin in the otherwise alcohol- free lodge are hysterical).

Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew has also been a visitor.

He doesn’t have much time for today’s leaders: “President Obama is a
total wreck. The Republicans are deeply divided with a growing number
of extremists. It’s time for some damage control but unfortunately
most US politicians are dimwits.”

Apart from his son. Jon Huntsman Jnr is a former ambassador to
Singapore and China, and twice governor of Utah, He was a presidential
candidate for the Republicans at the last election. He heads the
Atlantic Council think-tank and co-chairs the No Labels group, a
mix of Democrats, Republicans and independents who want to promote
problem-solving rather than point-scoring.

Only a few days ago Salt Lake City was buzzing with rumours that
Jon Jnr will run again at the next elections. His father won’t say:
“I don’t know whether Jon will run but I do know he would make a
brilliant president – he’s a diplomat, a businessman and he’s been
governor twice.”

What he did say is this: “If Hillary Clinton runs for president,
she’ll win by a landslide. She’s very able and competent and Jon knows
her well. Jon would be perfect as Vice-President or maybe Secretary
of State. Now that would be a great combination.”

You read it here first.

Day in the life: the personal touch

Jon Huntsman used to get up at 6am, be at the office at 7am and work
until 8pm, but nowadays takes it a little easier, largely due to his
health. No day is the same, but about a third of his time is spent
visiting his businesses around the world and meeting staff. His wife
often comes with him. He also spends a lot of time visiting the cancer
institute and other charities, scholarship students.

He has just finished the book “The Emperor of all Maladies”, about
the evolution of cancer. He also likes autobiographies and enjoyed
“The Fourth Star”.

Car: Lincoln Navigator

Planes: Two Gulfstream 4SPs. One used for business and one for
humanitarian use – taking cancer patients, church use, etc.

CV

Jon Meade Huntsman

Born: 21 June 1937 in Blackfoot, Idaho.

Education: Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, USC
Marshall School of Business.

Career: Olson Brothers. Dolco Packaging Corporation.

Founder and chairman: Hunstman Corporation

Family: Married to Karen, nine children and 56 grandchildren.

Charities: Huntsman Cancer Institute; Aid to Armenia; University
of Utah.

SWEDEN OPENS EMBASSY IN ARMENIA

June 13, 2014 | 19:44

YEREVAN. – An Embassy of Sweden opened in Armenia on Friday.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received Trade Minister
Ewa Bjorling who is on a visit to Armenia.

In his speech, Minister Nalbandian said Armenia attaches importance
to development of relationship with Sweden, noting importance of the
decision to open a diplomatic mission in Yerevan. Minister Nalbandian
pointed out Trade Minister’s decision to visit Armenia along with
delegation of Swedish businessmen.

Minister Bjorling, for her part, said she was happy to be in Yerevan on
the occasion of the opening of embassy here. The Minister believes the
move will give a new impetus to development of bilateral cooperation.

The meeting focused on cooperation within international agencies,
development of economic ties and bilateral trade, intensification
of contacts in education and culture, as well as issues related to
Armenia-EU cooperation.

The Armenian and Swedish ministers participated in an official opening
ceremony of Sweden’s Embassy in Yerevan.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

BRINGING THE ELIXIR OF LIFE TO KARVACHAR

Friday, June 13th, 2014

Children in Karvachar enjoy a cool glass of water

Karvachar, a town that had no running water is where Armenia Fund
built a brand new distribution network that now provides the town
with safe drinking water 24 hours a day.

It’s early Saturday morning. You walk over to the sink and start
brushing your teeth. The cool water you splash on your face gives
you a little jolt and opens your eyes. You’re awake.

Showers are always better on the weekend. No rush, just a relaxing
time before continuing a day of leisure. You walk to the kitchen,
thinking about what hot drink you want to start your day with. Then
you see a steaming mug of coffee and a pot of hot tea — somebody at
home has made both. Coffee first.

The cup of joe in your hand, you venture outside and turn on the hose.

The trees, grass, and flowers need watering. You want to make sure
your grass is green for this summer’s barbeques and you want your
trees to bear more apricot and pomegranate than last year.

Everything you’ve done so far has required water. And it’s not even
noon yet.

Roma Azaryan washing fruits and vegetables

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency,
the average American family of four uses 400 gallons of water per day.

That’s 400 individual gallon bottles a day and 2,800 gallons per week.

Until recently, the town of Karvachar, in Artsakh’s northwest, had no
running water. The families there certainly do not use as much water
as those in America but they have the same basic needs. And although
the region will soon be the beneficiary of increased trade because
it sits along the Vardenis-Martakert Highway being constructed by
Armenia Fund, it is the most underdeveloped part of Artsakh and was
heavily affected by the War for Independence.

Without running water, families need to collect water they’re going
to use from either a pump or a well. The water might then be stored
in improvised home reservoirs, usually using household trashcans that
hold about 32 gallons.

Even if this was enough water to drink and to cook food, there isn’t
enough to bathe or shower, making interfamily sickness more likely.

That aside, these crude reservoirs are not subject to treatment like
water that comes out of a faucet. In fact, the makeshift reservoirs
are likely to turn into stagnant pools that become breeding grounds
for different types of waterborne sickness that can be passed to
people who come in contact with it.

Installing the underground water network

Not being able to brush your teeth or take a shower are hygienic
issues that could have serious consequences over time. But to not
have clean drinking water available is a central issue that has a
significant negative impact on public health, particularly children.

Lack of access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation is
so important that it forms an integral part of United Nations
Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon’s Five-Year Action Agenda. Waterborne
illnesses and disease affect millions of people a year and they are
often due to contaminated water. That’s why the UN, the World Health
Organization, and others have made increasing access to clean water
to populations around the world a top priority.

Gagik Dulyan freshening up with cool, clean water

Knowing the importance of clean water and the hugely positive impact
it would have on sanitation, hygiene and, public health, Armenia Fund
chose to build a brand new water distribution system in Karvachar
that would serve its 570 residents. The water supply system, which
cost over $400,000, includes 5 miles of pipes that connect to the
town’s 120 households. Two reservoirs, with a combined capacity of
26,400 gallons, were also constructed to help regulate distribution
and ensure that the flow of water is consistent. Residents now have
round-the-clock water that comes directly to their homes.

While it’s unlikely that anyone in Karvachar will be taking leisurely
20-minute-long showers or watering a rose garden, everyone in the town
will now have access to the basic human right of safe drinking water.

And although its large-scale infrastructure projects like the
Vardenis-Martakert Highway will impact the lives of millions of people,
improving the lives of a few hundred is equally worthwhile for the
Armenia Fund and it always has been. No project is too small if it
helps people live better, healthier lives.