MEDIA RELEASE
Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)
Press Office
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 889-5150; Fax: (212) 889-4849
email: press@farusa.org
web:
blog: farusa.wordpress.com
Fund for Armenian Relief celebrates its 20th anniversary, honors one
of its Founders, and raises close to $1 Million
Some 450 people gathered at Cipriani Wall Street in downtown Manhattan
on January 15 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Fund for Armenian
Relief (FAR) ‘ an organization that has provided strength and
opportunity to the Armenian people ‘ and pay tribute to a true
humanitarian and co-founder of FAR, Dr. Edgar M. Housepian.
Many guests traveled hundreds of miles to attend the regal gala, which
helped to raise close to $1 million to support FAR operations.
His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, presided over the event and addressed attendees.
Other notable speakers included Tribute Committee Chair Dr. Tavit
Najarian; Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
(Eastern) and President of FAR Archbishop Khajag Barsamian; Chair of
FAR’s Board of Directors Mr. Randy Sapah-Gulian; President Emeritus of
Boston University and FAR Board member Dr. Aram Chobanian; and
Dr. Housepian’s son Dr. David Hovsepian.
President Barack Obama sent a congratulatory letter on the occasion of
the 20th Anniversary of the Fund for Armenian Relief.
Mr. Tatoul Markarian, Armenia’s Ambassador to the U.S., presented to
Dr. Housepian the Mkhitar Heratzi Medal, an honor from the President
of Armenia Serge Sargsyan, in recognition of Dr. Housepian’s work in
improving medical care and benefiting the Armenian people at
large. FAR’s Board of Directors bestowed an award in recognition of
Dr. Housepian’s outstanding leadership and extraordinary contribution
to the wellbeing of the Armenian people. Dr. Housepian also received
the highest honor in the Armenian Church, the St. Gregory The
Illuminator medal and encyclical, presented to him by His Holiness
Karekin II.
An esteemed neurosurgeon from Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center,
Dr. Edgar Housepian carried on an amazing career until his retirement
in 1997. When the 1988 earthquake in Armenia nearly destroyed the
cities of Gyumri and Spitak, Dr. Housepian mobilized an all-out relief
effort. Together with the late prominent builder and philanthropist,
FAR Chairman Emeritus (1923-2009) Kevork Hovnanian and then-Primate
Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, he gathered emergency supplies and flew
to Armenia to witness the impact of the disaster firsthand.
With the desire to do more for their homeland, the three helped to lay
the foundation for the Fund for Armenian Relief, which was originally
called the Diocesan Fund for Armenian Relief (DFAR). In 1990, DFAR was
reorganized as an independent NGO, the Fund for Armenian Relief with
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian as the President of the organization.
Dr. Housepian continues to serve as the vice chair of FAR’s Board of
Directors and the chair of FAR’s medical committee. He also carries on
humanitarian work as the Special Advisor for International Relations
at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.
Dr. Housepian’s passion for medical education and his dedication to
FAR helped cement several crucial FAR medical programs, which are
leading Armenia on the path to become an international center for
medical education and research.
Randy Sapah-Gulian, Chair of FAR’s Board of Directors, called
Dr. Housepian a man of wisdom and a great humanitarian. He recalled
the horrible day in 1988 when the terrible earthquake hit Armenia.
`Back then it was all about the Fund for Armenian Relief providing the
necessities of life for Armenians ‘ housing, transportation,
infrastructure ‘ and they created the Fund for Armenian Relief because
they believed they needed an organization to continue to do the
important things that Armenia needed,’ he said. `FAR has invested $280
million in programs and projects for Armenia. While we always provide
for those that need assistance for Armenia, from an infrastructure
perspective the focus has changed to provide for the things that will
help Armenians really help themselves.’
Today, FAR also operates programs that provide Armenians with the
tools, knowledge, and resources to take ownership of their future. On
a daily basis, FAR touches the lives of thousands of Armenians through
programs that provide food and medical care to the elderly; care and
guidance to children at-risk; education and support to students,
doctors, and academics; and reconstruction of roads, hospitals, and
water pipelines to improve the nation’s infrastructure.
Mr. Sapah-Gulian told the stories of some FAR program beneficiaries,
including a young girl who obtained an education because of FAR; an
elderly man who lives in FAR’s senior citizen home; and two young
children who are no longer living with abusive parents because of the
FAR Homeless Children Center.
`These people and thousands of others have been helped because of
Dr. Housepian,’ Mr. Sapah-Gulian said.
FAR strives not only to help people in need, but also those with
talent who lack the opportunity to improve their lives.By creating
educational and employment opportunities, FAR helps build a social
ethos of trust essential for a productive society.
FAR also tries to instill the culture of volunteerism in the young
generation of Armenians, explaining that giving back to others must
become an essential component of their lives. Dr. Housepian has set
such an example through his tireless work for Armenia.
`If anyone could ever decide to be an example of goodwill towards
mankind it would be Dr. Edgar Housepian,’ said Archbishop
Barsamian. `All of us here have witnessed his outpouring of goodwill ‘
how he reaches out to people from all walks of life without
discrimination. As his friends we know how generous he is with his
time and advice. We know of his great patriotism and concern for our
homeland, but what impresses me in Dr. Housepian is his truly
humanitarian concern. His goodwill is directed not only to friends and
fellow countrymen, but also to people he has never met and probably
never will meet.’
Archbishop Barsamian spoke of a recent call he received from
Dr. Housepian, asking how the Armenian community could help the
victims of this month’s earthquake in Haiti.
`Over these past 20 years I have received such calls dozens of times
from Dr. Housepian,’ Archbishop Barsamian said. `Whether the cause is
a great disaster or the quiet affliction of an individual, the spirit
of goodwill in Dr. Housepian’s heart compels him to help, to act, to
use whatever power he has for relief. Today in our world there are
countless people whose lives have been touched ¦ and even saved
because of his compassion and goodwill. Looking at it that way, one
can see how a spirit of goodwill is truly a blessing from God and like
all blessings it gives us an opportunity to reflect, be grateful, and
be inspired. That is the meaning of tonight’s tribute, to honor, to
thank, and to be inspired by one man’s outpouring of goodwill.’
Keynote speaker Dr. Chobanian called Dr. Housepian a man of admirable
finesse and resolve. He noted Dr. Housepian’s great contributions to
robotic brain surgery, his contributions to Columbia University, where
he has served on a multitude of committees, his participation in
numerous medical societies, as well as his legendary academic
accomplishments. But it is Dr. Housepian’s personality that sets him
apart, Dr. Chobanian said.
`While his academic accomplishments have been legendary, what really
define Ed are his personal qualities. What I consider the qualities
that I like to teach to medical students, residents and other
physicians, I only need to think of Ed and the qualities he represents
‘ intelligence, scholarship, thoroughness, and confidence, combined
with empathy, openness, honesty, respectfulness, humility, humanness.’
His Holiness Karekin II closed the program with special words of
praise for the Fund for Armenian Relief and the honoree. `Dr. Edgar
Housepian, following the example of his parents, who were dedicated to
their homeland and loved the Church, and endowed with their zeal, he
is continuing to contribute to the well being and progress of our
fatherland.
Since the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, through the Eastern Diocese, FAR
and other organizations that were summoned to help Armenia, he has put
his rich experiences and knowledge at the disposal of the productive
enterprise of modernizing health care in our country, helping to
refurbish the medical establishments technologically, retraining
doctors, and strengthening relations between the fatherland and the
diaspora. Thanks to his professional and benevolent activities,
Dr. Housepian has attained much appreciation from both professional
doctors and the government of Armenia.’ he said.
Dr. Housepian expressed his gratitude for the evening’s program. `All
these activities ‘ the medical activities that I’ve been passionate
about and involved in ‘ have had a positive impact on the medical
culture of the physicians who now actually work together,’ he
said. `The Medical School and Health Ministry cooperate in supporting
each other’s programs. These are all firsts in the former Soviet
Union.’
He spoke about each of the programs FAR has been implementing in
Armenia ‘ the Continuing Medical Education program and the FAR
Fellowship Alumni Association; the improvement of the Armenian
National Medical Library; and the Armenian National Science and
Education Fund.
`It’s been a great honor for me to lead some of these programs for the
past 20 years and I’m grateful to our Vehapar for being here, and
humbled to have received such high honors from him, the President of
Armenia Serge Sargsyan, and the entire FAR Board’ he said.
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About FAR
Since its founding in response to the 1988 earthquake, FAR has served
hundreds of thousands of people through more than 220 relief and
development programs in Armenia and Karabagh. It has channeled more
than $285 million in humanitarian assistance by implementing a wide
range of projects including emergency relief, construction, education,
medical aid, and economic development.
Fund for Armenian Relief
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Phone (212) 889-5150
press@farusa.org
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