Armenia Fund USA, Inc.
152 Madison Ave, S-803
New York, NY 10016, U.S.A.
T/1-212-689-5307
F/1-212-689-5317
http://ww w.armeniafundusa.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Nor-Getashen Village
~A successful example of Armenia Fund USA’s mission ~
NEW YORK, New York – From its beginning, Armenia Fund USA (the Fund)
embraced within its mission the goal to go “beyond bricks and mortar”. An
example of that is the continuing community development of the village of
Nor-Getashen since Armenia Fund USA’s donor Mr. Norman Miller, 92, of
Pennsylvania brought clean drinking water (2005) to a tiny, war-ravaged
community of Nagorno-Karabakh. Accompanied by his son, Mr. Miller traveled
to Nor-Getashen to personally see the changes made through the water
project. He was touched to meet the families of Nor-Getashen who now had
clean running water in their homes. Moved by the impact clean drinking water
had made on the daily lives of the people of Nor-Getashen, Mr. Miller
pledged to support the expansion of the project to include two other
communities of the village.
More than this, living through his visit to Nor-Getashen, Mr. Miller decided
to share the spirit of Christmas (2005) with them by sending gifts to the
village’s school children. A TV and a DVD player were delivered to
Nor-Getashen school. Also, “Superbook” DVDs and toys were kindly donated by
Christian Broadcasting Network, a Virginia based non-profit organization and
one of the largest television ministries in the world. The tapes, which have
been widely televised on Armenian TV, and are quite popular among children,
have now been made available in this tiny remote village in mountainous
Karabakh.
In May 2006, while completing their visit to Hayastan Himnadram’s affiliates
meeting in Yerevan, Kevork Toroyan, Chairman, and Irina Lazarian, Executive
Director, also traveled to Nor-Getashen to review the progress of the water
project that is due to be completed by the end of June, 2006. They were able
to see the overall economic impact that small changes and improvements had
on families’ lives. What impressed them most, however, was the
well-maintained, clean and neat classrooms of the village’s only school
which has no more than 72 school children. In this small village that has
suffered greatly from the 1991 war between disputing countries Armenia and
Azerbaijan, representatives of Armenia Fund USA could see hopeful faces that
are now filled with optimism for the future. “We saw lively faces of
children, energy, willingness and vigor of villagers to tackle daily
problems, and most importantly, how a small socio-economic improvement in
this tiny community can be an incentive to move forward.” says Ms. Lazarian,
Executive Director of the Fund. Nor-Getashen families once again thanked the
Fund for giving them “the confidence and feeling” that they are not alone in
their social struggle to make life better in Nagorno-Karabakh. The project
in Nor-Getashen shows how small scale development projects can successfully
mobilize communities.
Apart from undertaking large-scale development projects defined in its
mission, the Fund has also helped facilitate smaller much-needed projects
that some of its donors have envisioned. In their continuing commitment to
effect social change, several have, over years, adopted specific projects
building on the continuity and sustainability desired by the Fund in every
step of the way. Armenia Fund USA’s restoration of the heating system in
Nork through the generosity of Mr. Agop Giritliyan (2005) and the
water-project of Mr. Vasken Kassabian (2004) are examples of such
initiatives.
Armenia Fund USA works closely with like minded organizations to deliver the
necessary technical intervention to Armenia and Karabakh. Through the
generous support of its donors, it continues touching lives of thousands of
people giving them hope that change and improvement can, in fact, reach
them. The emphasis on the maintenance of projects the Fund sponsors, the
multifaceted support to ensure the long-term sustainability of initiatives,
as well as thorough follow-up on the work completed, clearly confirm Armenia
Fund USA’s pledge to go ‘beyond bricks and mortar”.