Armenian Relief Society, Inc.
Telephone: 617-926-5892 Central Office
Fax£:617-926-4855
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown, MA 02472
e-mail: [email protected]
Contact: Hamesd Beugekian
FIRST LADY, DR. BELLA KOCHARIAN VISITS THE ARS MOTHER AND CHILD HEALTH
AND BIRTHING CENTER
On Wednesday, October 18, Armenia’s First Lady, Dr. Bella Kocharian
visited the ARS Mother and Child Health and Birthing Center in
Akhurian. This was Dr. Kocharian’s first visit to the ARS center’s
new maternity ward and recently completed Radiology & Scanning
Department.
Dr. Kocharian was accompanied by ARS Armenia Chairperson Alvard
Petrosian, who is also a member of the Republic of Armenia’s National
Assembly, as well as ARS Armenia Regional Executive Board members.
On the occasion of Dr. Kocharian’s important visit, the ARS invited
representatives of various women’s and social service organizations to
be present, including Minister of Health Norair Davtian; Armenia’s top
cancer expert Dr. Sergey Sayirian; ARF Supreme Council members Lilit
Galstian and Rouzan Arakelian; ARF Commission on Women’s Issues
Chairperson Maria Titizian; Shirak Province Governor Romik Manukian; and
ARS Central Executive Board member Karine Hovhannisian.
The visit was fully covered and broadcast on television and radio. All
the guests were deeply impressed and expressed their admiration for the
Health Center’s new additions. As a token of appreciation, First Lady
Kocharian presented the center with a television set.
The Mother and Child Health Center tour was followed by a visit to the
Psychological Center in Gyumri which recently inaugurated a new wing
built and subsidized by the Swiss "Armenianos" Fund. Center director and
noted psychologist Armine Gmuir-Karapetian cooperates closely with the
ARS Armenia Regional Executive Board. Over the last few years,
Gmuir-Karapetian has provided expertise to the ARS Armenia on various
in-depth ARS studies devoted to psychological issues faced by various
segments of the population.
Dr. Kocharian was visibly impressed by what she saw at both centers and
expressed her deep satisfaction for having the opportunity to witness
the ARS’s important work in Gyumri. In a parting promise, the First Lady
pledged to support all present and future ARS programs.
Established in 1910, the ARS is the oldest Armenian women’s
organization with entities in 24 countries. To learn more about the ARS
and its programs, visit the ARS’s website at or call
(617) 926-5892.
November 8, 2006
Hamesd Beugekian
Administrative Secretary
ARMENIAN RELIEF SOCIETY,INC
80 Bigelow Avenue
Watertown MA, 02427
Tel: 617-926 5892
Fax: 617-926 4855
E-mail: [email protected]