PRESS RELEASE

MISSION EAST – Values in Action
Saryan 6, apt. 4
Yerevan, 375002, Armenia
Tel.:(374 10) 52.15.34, 566718
Email: missioneast@missioneast.am
Contact: Raffi Doudaklian

November 17, 2006
For Immediate Release

Mission East Welcomes New Country Director to Armenia

Armenia – Mission East hosted a reception on November 16, 2006, in
honor of Dr. Kim Hartzner, new Country Director of its Armenia office.

More than 120 guests from local and international organizations
attended the event to welcome the new Director and get acquainted
with Mission East.

Hartzner, the organization’s Managing Director in Denmark, recently
moved to Armenia with his wife and three sons for a year, to lead
the local office’s programs.

Kim Hartzner is a medical doctor who co-founded Mission East with
his father in 1991. Since 1999, he has served as Managing Director,
overseeing the organization’s country programs, which have since
expanded to include other countries of Eastern Europe and Asia.

"You don’t know what is happening in a country until you live there
for a long time. By living here, you have the ability to understand
the problems on all levels," Hartzner said.

Mission East, a Danish international relief and development
organization, has been active in Armenia since 1992, when it
established a hospital. It subsequently provided relief aid,
distributing thousands of tons of food to poor communities in the
Syunik region and beyond during some of the country’s most difficult
years. In 1998, Mission East began to focus on children’s institutions,
with the purpose of improving education for children with learning
difficulties.

"Thanks to Mission East and its local partner organization Bridge of
Hope, we have systematically and consistently been able to provide
equal opportunities for children with learning difficulties, both
to raise the level of their education and facilitate access to the
educational system," stated Bagrat Yessayan, Deputy Minister of
Education and Science. He praised Mission East for the work done
in the special education sector, specifically the leading role that
Mission East and its partner organizations played in the adoption of
the Special Education Law and the national special education curricula.

Recently, Mission East also initiated a health project to promote
the rights of disabled children in Armenia, seeking to help change
social attitudes and healthcare practices.

For further information on Mission East and its programs, please
contact us at the coordinates below.

For additional information, please visit our website at

Mission East is a Danish international relief and development
organization that works to help the vulnerable through humanitarian
relief aid and development assistance, as well as support for
increasing the capacity of communities to organize and assist
themselves.