PRESS OFFICE
Department of Communications
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Media Relations Specialist
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
July 19, 2007
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FIRST EVER JOINT TOUR OF ARMENIAN PROJECT SITES
This June marked the first joint tour of Armenia by the Diocesan Council and
the Board of Directors of the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), the
Diocesan-affiliated development organization which is working to bring hope,
opportunity, and empowerment to the people of Armenia.
The members of the Diocesan Council serve as the Board of Trustees for FAR,
and the trip was a chance for the two groups to get to know each other and
to see the work FAR is accomplishing. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate
of the Diocese and President of FAR, led both delegations.
"We — the Primate, the Diocesan Council, and the FAR Board — spent quality
time together," said James Kalustian, Diocesan Council treasurer. "We got
to know each other better on a personal level and got a better understanding
for what motivates each of us in our service to the Church and our people.
It was an impressive and inspiring group of people. We also accomplished a
lot in terms of work we needed to get done and people and organizations we
met with."
Many of the Council members had seen pictures and read reports about the
work of FAR does in Armenia, but seeing it first-hand, they said, really
brought home the ability FAR has in efficiently turning donations into hope,
opportunity, and empowerment for the Armenian people.
"FAR’s success is truly inspiring beyond words," Kalustian said. "The
projects are really making a difference in the lives of people who need our
help to help themselves. It was also wonderful to see first-hand that FAR
is now going beyond just providing aid but is helping people become self
sufficient by teaching them skills and trades. As inspiring as it was, we
soon realized there is still so much to be done."
During the trip, the Primate, FAR Founder and Honorary Life Chairman Kevork
Hovnanian, Chairman of the FAR Board of Directors Randy Sapah-Gulian, and
FAR Executive Director Garnik Nanagoulian met with Armenian President Robert
Kocharian. The FAR Board and Diocesan Council delegation met with Prime
Minister Serge Sargsyan, along with the foreign and health ministry.
"We were happy to hear the highly positive assessments these leaders had of
FAR and our work," said Garnik Nanagoulian, FAR executive director. "All of
them expressed hope that FAR will continue our work in Armenia and shared
their appreciation for the significant contributions our donors and
supporters have made to the nation."
Diocesan Council Chairman Oscar Tatosian noted that the meeting with Prime
Minister Sargsyan was particularly productive and enlightening.
"He’s well aware of how important the Eastern Diocese is and the role the
Eastern Diocese has played in supporting Armenia. He was thankful for it
and he was well informed. It was also obvious he had good relationship with
our Primate," Tatosian said. "The one thing he did mention was that it
would optimize our efforts if there was more cooperation and lack of
duplication between the different organizations operating in Armenia.
That’s definitely an approach we need to look at."
The group also met with U.S. Embassy officials, such as the then-charge
d’affairs Anthony Godfrey, and the director of the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) in Armenia, Karl Fickenscher. At the
Embassy the group discussed the recent awarding of a $3.1 million USAID
contract to rebuild the water system around the city of Artashat.
VARIETY OF PROJECTS
The group of community leaders saw many different projects operated by FAR.
They toured the Homeless Children’s Center in Yerevan, where FAR is offering
hope to at-risk youth and leading the charge to modernize Armenia’s foster
care system. They met with elderly beneficiaries at the FAR-run Gyumri
Senior Center and the Vanadzor Old Age Home, who are living their final
years in dignity thanks to FAR’s efforts.
The Board members also met with students at the Gyumri Information
Technology Center, which is creating the opportunity of well-paid employment
in the earthquake ravaged zone. They also toured the Octet Music School, a
project providing hope to the children of Gyurmi by providing access to
musical education. They also toured the FAR soup kitchen in Gyumri, which
is made possible by the complete financial support of FAR Board member
Nishan and Margrit Atinizian.
The Board members also had time to talk with many of the beneficiaries of
FAR projects, to hear how FAR efforts are empowering them to build the civil
society of Armenia. They spoke with recipients of Armenian National Science
and Education Fund (ANSEF) grants, which provides financial support to
Armenia’s scientists and researchers. They heard from the older orphans
able to make a life for themselves thanks to the opportunities provided by
the Gulamerian Vocational Training and Education Program as well as the
scholars attending college and university thanks to the Mathevosian and
other scholarship programs.
At the National Medical Library the group also spoke with participants in
FAR’s Continuing Medical Education (CME) program, which pairs provincial
doctors with their peers in Yerevan to provide education and access to the
latest technology. The Board met with both rural participants and those
Armenian doctors who volunteering to serve as mentors.
TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT
Following the joint tour with the Diocesan Council members, the FAR Board of
Directors held a meeting to discuss the group’s focus.
"The objective of the visit was to review FAR programs and, looking at the
current and future needs of the Armenian people, to develop a new strategy
for FAR over the next 10 years," said Randy Sapah-Gulian, chairman of FAR.
He said the FAR Board agreed with the need to further efforts to provide
tools, resources, and guidance to the Armenian people so they can build
their own civil society and be empowered to create their own future.
"When FAR was established, we had to be there to provide aid, food, shelter,
medicine, so the Armenians could overcome the earthquake and other
troubles," Sapah-Gulian said. "But today, as the nation has strengthened,
FAR remains there to provide a helping hand, not a charitable handout."
— 7/19/07
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate and President of
the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), with members of the Diocesan Council and
FAR Chairman Randy Sapah-Gulian visit FAR’s Homeless Children’s Center
during the recent joint trip to Armenia.
PHOTO CAPTION (2): Vicki Hovanessian, wife of Diocesan Council Vice
Chairman Dr. Raffy Hovanessian, listens to some of the students from FAR’s
Octet Music School in Gyurmi during the joint Diocesan Council and FAR Board
of Directors tour of FAR projects.
PHOTO CAPTION (3): Members of the FAR Board and the Diocesan Council listen
to a presentation on the success of FAR’s Gyumri Information Technology
Center (GITC) in rebuilding the region’s economy.