PRESS RELEASE
Armenia Fund USA, Inc.
152 Madison Ave, Suite 803
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-5307
E-mail: [email protected]
The Many “Faces” of Armenia Fund USA’s Projects
~With its multifaceted programs and initiatives, the Fund’s outreach and
socio-economic impact continue to make a difference in thousands of lives~
NEW YORK, New York – Non-governmental organizations, working hard to make a
difference in lives of beneficiaries, can get caught up in the day to day
whirlwind of raising funds, strategic planning, and program implementation
in order to effect much-needed change. In the course of “good works”, it is
important to guard that the focus on statistics and dollar signs does not
blur the reason we are all working so passionately.
Armenia Fund USA (the Fund) is not an exception to this. As we look back on
the large-scale projects which have distinguished the Fund and Hayastan
All-Armenian Fund’s other 18 worldwide affiliates, we would like to share
some of the “Faces” of those whose lives have been forever changed by our
programs and initiatives.
For example, look at the small village of Nor Getashen. Located in the
northern part of Nagorno-Karabakh, this village was partially destroyed
because of the Armenian-Azeri conflict which began in 1991. Fearing for
their lives and those of their families, many inhabitants scattered into
Russia and other parts of the world. But today, houses and the village
school teem with laughter, songs and smiles of men, women and children who
have become the new pioneers in their own homeland. And, contributing
largely to the repopulation of the village is the provision of safe drinking
water made possible by American-Armenian businessman Norman Miller’s gift to
Armenia Fund USA for a new water system.
In Stepanakert, the region’s capital, a once war-ravaged and destroyed
polyclinic will reopen as the new “Armine Pagoumian Polyclinic and
Diagnostic Center” in May 2006. Made possible by American-Armenian business
leader Mr. George Pagoumian, the facility has state-of-the-art equipment and
telemedicine technology, and world class medical training designed by two
leading U.S. medical centers. The Polyclinic will not only ensure
high-quality medical and healthcare services for the region’s people but it
will, because of the advanced training and opportunity to develop new
skills, provide the clinic’s staff with increased job security and
advancement opportunities.
Today it is not uncommon to see subsistence farm families struggling to
barely eek out a living from their small fields – with some of these
families living without, literally, any protein in their daily diets. But
through Armenia Fund USA’s Agricultural Initiative many of these families
will have an opportunity for a raised standard of living. In May 2006, as
part of a three-year, three-region initiative, 300-400 subsistence farmers
in Haterk (Mardakert region) will be invited to join the first Agricultural
Development Association (ADA). They will learn how the ADA will provide
local jobs and technical support, access to large farm equipment, and small
loans to help establish family businesses and expand agriculture production
of various products. Most importantly, the program will combat poverty in
the region, thus allowing the families to secure a more economically and
stable future for themselves and their homeland.
Armenia Fund USA, through the generous support of its donors, continues
touching lives of thousands of people in Armenia and Karabakh. However, this
is not only restricted to large-scale projects, but also through smaller –
but badly needed- projects which have captured the vision of some of the
Fund’s donors. In their continuing commitment to effect social change,
several have, over the years, asked Armenia Fund USA to help facilitate
their gifts for projects such as the new program to institute preventative
measures against the threat of the Avian Influenza in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Other examples are the renovation of the heating system in Nork orphanage in
Yerevan.
In May 2006, Kevork Toroyan, Chairman, and Irina Lazarian, Executive
Director, will travel to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh to review the progress
of some recent initiatives. Winding their way from village to village and
city to city, they will once again assess the overall economic impact and
increased regional stability which have helped shape the future of the
region and its people.
But more than that, they will be able to see the “Faces” of the projects and
those who will benefit from the new initiatives. They will shake the
calloused hand of the aging grandmother who works her small field manually;
they will see children who are now safe from once threatening water-borne
diseases caused by antiquated and contaminated pipelines; they will see
farmers’ carts filled with produce heading to markets, now accessible by the
new North-South Highway, and they will celebrate as the doors of the new
Armine Pagoumian Polyclinic and Diagnostic Center open to hundreds of
people.
ABOUT ARMENIA FUND USA: ARMENIA FUND USA, founded in 1992, was one of the
first of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s 18 international affiliates and serves
constituents in all states east of the Mississippi. As a non-profit,
non-governmental, nonsectarian organization, the Fund represents all
Armenian constituents.
Armenia Fund USA is the largest contributor among the 18 international
affiliates – supporting strategic infrastructure projects in Armenia and
Karabakh, and having helped build 138 miles of roads, 100 miles of
waterways, 36 schools, 3 electric transmission networks, 210 residential
buildings and 15 healthcare institutions.
Armenia Fund USA’s Mission is the development of strategic socio-economic
infrastructure in Armenia and Karabakh, focusing on major projects such as
major highways, schools, drinking water to communities and humanitarian
programs in education, training and medical facilities. The Fund has adopted
a policy to go “Beyond Bricks and Mortar” to provide sustainability to
projects it sponsors.