ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY, INC. CENTRAL EXECUTIVE BOARD

PRESS RELEASE NO. 4
Armenian Relief Society, Inc.
Telephone£ 617-926-5892
Central Office
Fax: 617-926-4855

80 Bigelow Avenue
e-mail: Secretary@ARS1910.org

Watertown, MA 02472
Website:

PRESS RELEASE

ARS CHAIRPERSON VISITS ARTSAKH

Yerevan, May 16 — On Moday, May 8, The Chairperson of the Armenian
Relief Society, Mrs. Hasmig Derderian left for Artsakh on a three-day
field work program. Three days before her departure, Mrs. Derderian,
along with the President of the Republic and numerous high government
officials, had attended a special Requiem Mass, celebrated by His
Holiness Vazgen I, in memory of the victims who perished off the shore
of Sochi in the Armenian Airlines crash.

On the very day of her arrival at Stepanakert, the
Chairperson met with the ARS/Artsakhÿs Executive Board and discussed
the entityÿs organizational issues and its activities around the
region. During the meeting, the Executive Board Chairperson, Mrs. Nelly
Ghoulian presented, in detail, the current picture of the 10 ARS
“Soseh” Kindergartens spread out across Artsakh. Daily, more than 500
children receive free sustenance and education in these nurseries,
thanks to the generous moral and financial support of ARS entities
throughout the world.

All across the Homeland, the Armenian Relief Society – whose Armenia
affiliate is preparing to celebrate its 15th Anniversary in September of
this year – continues to implement its various programs in support of
the orphaned children of the fallen warriors of the Artsakh liberation
struggle, needy students, etc., coordinated by the ARS Central Executive
Board. In view of the fact, that many of those youngsters have reached
college age, the ARS has decided to start a program of assistance to the
scholastic needs of those who wish to continue their education by
attending colleges and institutes of their choice.

Mrs. Derderian was delighted to hear, that ARS/Artsakh is firmly
committed to participate in the ARS Centennial Pan-Armenian
Fund-drive, which will secure the necessary funds allowing the
continuation of the Organization’s world-wide humanitarian activities.

The following day, on the occasion of the 14th Anniversary of the
liberation of the City of Shoushi, Chairperson Derderian laid wreathes
on the monuments of the martyred hero, Ashot-Bekor Ghoulian and those
who fell on the field of honor during World War II; she also visited the
site of the Tank which serves as a memorial at the entrance of the city,
following which, she joined those who attended the commemorative
services held in the Ghazanchetsvots Cathedral.

On Wednesday, the Chairperson visited the ARS “Soseh” Kindergarten of
Stepanakert – the oldest on the growing list of “Soseh” Kindergartens
in Artsakh. Mrs. Derderian, who was in Paris from the 26th to 30th of
April, participating in the deliberations of the Armenian Blue Cross
of France Regional Convention, later attended, in Yerevan, on May 2-4,
the plenary meeting of the “Armenia” Pan- Armenian Fund’s Board of
Trustees.

The ARS Chairperson departed from Armenia on Sunday, May 14. Until that
date, she continued her field work with the local ARS leadership and a
fellow ARS/CEB member, Mrs. Karine Hovhannisian, resident of Armenia.