PRESS RELEASE
Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) – Yerevan Office
53-55 Pavstos Buzand Street, 0010
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Inessa Grigoryan
Tel: (+374 10) 522076; 562068
Fax: (+374 10) 522076
E-mail: igrigoryan@coafkids.org
Web:
Children of Armenia Fund – New York Office
162 Fifth Avenue, Suite 900,
New York, NY 10010, USA
Contact: Erin A. Hagopian
Tel: 212 – 994 – 8234
Fax: 212 – 994 – 8299
E-mail: eahagopian@coafkids.org
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
Children of Armenia Fund and Armenian Dental Society of California
Bring Back Smiles to Children from Armavir
Armavir District, Republic of Armenia, June 26, 2007 ¾ The Children of
Armenia Fund (COAF) continues to upgrade and expand the healthcare
component of its Comprehensive Rural Development Program in the Model
Cluster of six villages of Armavir District of Armenia. In close
partnership with COAF for more than three consecutive years, the
Armenian Dental Society of California (ADSC) recently completed dental
screening and treatment in the communities of Dalarik, Lernagog,
Myasnikyan and Shenik. Implemented on a cost-share basis, the project
continues to be very productive in terms of preventive care and
considerable number of beneficiaries.
This year, 195 schoolchildren from the Model Cluster villages benefited
from this partnered initiative. In a series of scheduled stops on the
school grounds of each of the mentioned communities, these children were
diagnosed and treated in the mobile dental clinic. The availability of
two experienced dentists, a qualified nurse and up-to-date equipment and
medicine on board of the ADSC mobile clinic enabled quick action and
high-quality performance. A total of 88 boys and 107 girls were
provided with needed screening and treatment.
In the words of Tigranuhi Harutyunyan, a thirteen-year-old student from
Dalarik, "… the doctor’s friendly and caring attitude changed my
discomfort with dentists", she said with a smile. Another student, Aram
Ghazaryan from Lernagog, expressed his delight when he spoke about his
visit with the doctor. "Thanks to the interesting stories the doctor was
telling during the screening and treatment, I hardly noticed how quickly
two hours flew by".
Aside from the children’s satisfaction, the dentists’ professionalism
and caring attitude also impressed their parents. They all unanimously
stated that not a single child left the clinic unhappy. "We are so
grateful to COAF for initiating these important visits, and we are also
very impressed with dentists who brought back smiles to our children,"
said Vardges Azizyan, one of the parents from Myasnikyan. "It is so
convenient to have the dentists come to our village, so we do not have
to take our children elsewhere. We truly appreciate this project and
realize how it makes our lives much easier", he concluded. COAF plans
to continue this partnered program with ADSC.
# # #
The Armenian Dental Society of California (ADSC) was founded in 1993 and
since its inception has undertaken various projects both in the US and
Armenia. One of ADSC’s major undertakings for the past few years has
been its Sponsor a Smile Project. With the aim to address the lack of
access to dental care in Armenia and through the acquisition and
conversion of a bus to a mobile dental clinic, ADSC has been able to
reach out to distant communities in Armenia providing dental care to
thousands of schoolchildren.
Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) was founded in 2000 with the aim to
reduce poverty through the revitalization of rural Armenia and the
realization of projects that are instrumental for the revival of
communities. With the introduction of its novel approach to clustering
in February 2006, COAF is currently implementing the Model Cluster
working in six villages in Baghramyan Region of Armavir District. The
key components of COAF’s Model Cluster project comprise Infrastructure
and Economic Development Programs, and Community Development including
Health, Social and Educational Programs. Since early 2006, besides its
Model Village Karakert, COAF is also working in Argina, Dalarik,
Lernagog, Myasnikyan and Shenik.