PRESS RELEASE
Tufenkian Foundation, Inc.
20 Capitol Drive, Moonachie, NJ 07074
Contact: Antranig Kasbarian
Tel: 201- 221 -1055
Fax: 201 -221-1070
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
TUFENKIAN FOUNDATION UNVEILS NEW HEALTH CLINIC IN KARABAGH’S LACHIN DISTRICT
Opening ceremonies held before an enthusiastic public
ISHKHANADZOR, NKR-Friday, June 9 was a day of celebration for the
people of southern Kashatagh (Lachin), as the Tufenkian Foundation
held ceremonies marking the official opening of a new health clinic
here. The clinic will serve several thousand Armenians living in a
remote cluster of villages resettled during the 1990s, following the
Karabagh war, and marks the Foundation’s latest effort to foster
social security and economic development in this vital-yet-vulnerable
strategic area.
The June 9 ceremonies drew the attendance of nearly 100 local
inhabitants, who often traveled on foot from neighboring villages,
along with NKR officials including Minister of Health Zoya Lazaryan
and Kashatagh District Administration Head Hamlet Khachatryan. The
officials were greeted by children of the Ishkhanadzor village bearing
traditional offerings of bread and salt. During the ensuing program,
Tufenkian Foundation Director Antranig Kasbarian began by recounting
the clinic’s overall importance to the region.
"All of you know the difficult conditions we encounter here in
southern Kashatagh," Kasbarian noted. "Our hope is that this clinic,
in some small way, will raise public health standards in this
district, while helping to bring it out of its isolation and toward
further integration with the rest of Karabagh. Above and beyond its
medical functions, this clinic should serve to instill hope that there
is a future for us on these lands; that Armenians will not merely
survive, but will grow and prosper here."
Kasbarian then invited Minister Lazaryan to offer remarks on the
occasion. She emphasized the important role of the Armenian diaspora
in Armenia’s rehabilitation, and urged all to respond by making full
use of the facility. She was followed by Dr. Artsakh Buniatian,
Director of the Kashatagh Regional Hospital, who described the
clinic’s primary care functions in greater detail. He noted that
during the initial phase, the clinic will be staffed by one half-time
doctor position, two fulltime nurses, one fulltime midwife, and one
fulltime guard positions, with the intent to expand into other
functions during the coming years. Concluding remarks came from Hamlet
Khachatryan, who praised the cooperative spirit of all those who
brought the project to fruition.
The program was followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony, after which all
were invited to tour the facility and partake in a luncheon
celebration.
The Tufenkian Foundation gratefully acknowledges the help it received
from various partners in furnishing and equipping the facility. Special
mention goes to the Armenian American Health Professionals of Greater
Washington, "Friends of Armenia" of Montebello, CA, and Mrs. Martha
Mekaelian, who secured the participation of the Connecticut-based
relief organization, AmeriCares. All items were shipped to Armenia
through the kind assistance of the United Armenian Fund (UAF).
The Tufenkian Foundation was established in 1999 by New York-based
entrepreneur James Tufenkian. The Foundation currently pursues a wide
array of humanitarian projects in Armenia and in Karabagh, and also
sponsors the "Armenian Forests" NGO. To learn more about the
Foundation’s efforts, please see the Foundation’s website now under
construction at or contact Antranig
Kasbarian at (201) 221-1055, ext.327 or at
[email protected].