Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur, Armenia – In 2012, the family of Jean-Marie Atamian, in working through The Paros Foundation’s Prosperity on the Border Initiative, initiated a systematic and comprehensive investment program to rebuild the infrastructure and housing stock of this important border village with a growing population of over 1,100 residents located in the Berd area of Armenia’s Tavush Region. Over the course of the last few decades, this key strategic village has suffered from Azeri shelling and a lack of investment, creating both dangerous and difficult living conditions.

Ghukas A. holds one of his grandchildren. Soon they will enjoy a newly rebuilt home to prosper in for years to come.

The first phases of the Atamian family’s redevelopment plan were to finance the complete reconstruction of the village’s infrastructure including, but not limited to, its large secondary school, expanded kindergarten, medical center, emergency services building and water distribution system. Several families have also benefited from agribusiness and animal husbandry projects.

Having completed the rebuilding of NKA’s infrastructure, the Atamian family is currently focused on the large-scale reconstruction of severely damaged houses to provide quality and secure homes for deserving families. In the past two years, seven houses were rebuilt. Most recently, the village celebrated the opening of two completely rebuilt homes, one for the village nurse (Emma A.) and the other house for the family of Suren G., who repatriated to the village with his wife and their three young children and serves in the local police force.

The eighth major house reconstruction project will benefit the family of Ghukas A. Ghukas is a hard-working villager whose family of seven includes two sons who serve in the military defending our borders. One of his sons has an infant. The family’s current house is uninhabitable and requires a complete reconstruction and expansion of its existing living space to accommodate this large and growing family. Once completed, the house will be provided with new furniture, kitchen appliances and a bathroom. The anticipated cost of the project is $30,000. At least three additional families will be the beneficiaries of this program in the coming year.

In addition to providing families with dramatically improved living conditions, these projects have created material benefits to the local economy by providing numerous long-term construction jobs and promoting the purchase of furniture and materials manufactured in Armenia.

The Atamian family acknowledges the generous support of the Strauch Kulhanjian family, who underwrites the administrative expenses of The Paros Foundation, allowing 100% of donor contributions to be allocated in their entirety to the sponsored projects.

Tavush, Armenia–Children in the Tavush border communities of Achajur and Varagavan now benefit from newly renovated and expanded kindergartens. These important projects were implemented through The Paros Foundation’s Prosperity on the Border initiative over the course of the last 18 months.

In the village of Achajur, an overcrowded kindergarten meant that almost 100 children that were of kindergarten age were unable to attend and receive the benefits of early education. To address this need, The Paros Foundation agreed to completely reconfigure and reconstruct the second floor of the large building that houses the kindergarten. A new dining room and three large classrooms to accommodate the addition of these new children we successfully added. The rebuild included a more powerful heating system for the entire kindergarten, new bathrooms, new windows, and work to the exterior of the building. Work on the kindergarten at Achajur was made possible through the generous support of benefactors Ara and Valarie Cherchian.

In the village of Varagavan, only one small portion of the building that housed the village kindergarten was able to be used for a partial day program for 19 children in the village. A total of more than 40 children are of kindergarten and preschool age, but none of the children in this community were able to fully benefit from a full day early education program. This large, two story building needed a complete rebuild including roof, water, electrical, sewer and gas systems. New windows, doors, stairs, flooring and kitchens and bathrooms were installed as part of The Paros Foundation’s Prosperity on the Border initiative. Work on the kindergarten at Varagavan was made possible through donations received primarily from the “Cocktails on the Terrace” fundraiser generously sponsored by Gregory and Kelley Badishkanian at their home. To view a video of the Varagavan Kindergarten, please visit www.parosfoundation.org and search for Varagavan Kindergarten.

Focus on Children Now partnered on both of these kindergarten projects to provide high quality playgrounds and furniture for the children.

“The effects of the July attacks, Covid 19 and the Artsakh War have weighed heavily on the children in these communities,” said Peter Abajian, Executive Director of The Paros Foundation. “Returning to beautifully renovated, safe and inviting kindergartens will dramatically improve these communities return to in-person education and significantly benefit these important villages and their residents in the long-run.”

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We are in awe of the generosity that our community has shown towards our fundraising efforts! So far we have raised $240,968, which will be matched to total $481,936. As 2021 continues Armenians are still being confronted with the overwhelming task of providing assistance and securing housing for more than 100,000 refugees from Artsakh, and repairing damages in both Armenia and Artsakh from these brutal attacks. At the moment we have over 80 applicants as potential resettlement candidates. Our team is currently interviewing the families, and they will continue down the list in the coming days. With your donation we can ease the immense burden for these families.

Funds will be matched dollar for dollar up to $350,000 (by several anonymous donors who are contributing in honor of our brave fallen soldiers), for a total of $700,000. Let’s continue supporting our brothers and sisters in Armenia during this difficult time. Please help us meet this challenge.

Frequently visit the Emergency Relief and Reconstruction Artsakh project on The Paros Foundation website for updates, and follow us on social media. All donations made through this link will be matched up to $350,000 regardless of the amount. Please visit our website to donate or mail checks to the following address with a note saying “challenge grant”:

The Paros Foundation
2217 5th Street
Berkeley, CA 94710

The Paros Foundation has recently completed the complete reconstruction and furnishing of Suren G’s home in the border community of Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur. Suren, his wife and three young children lived in a small home that was almost too unsafe to live in.

Thanks to the support of Jean-Marie Atamian and his family, we were able to completely reconstruct and furnish this family’s home to create a safe, clean and inviting environment for his family to grow.

Thanks to another anonymous donor, we are no
increasing our matching challenge to $600,000!

Thank you to everyone who has helped contribute to our matching relief efforts! So far we have raised $222,451 which will be matched to total $444,902. As Armenians enter a new year, they are still being confronted with the overwhelming task of evacuating and surrendering lands to Azerbaijan, providing assistance and securing housing for more than 100,000 refugees from Artsakh, and repairing damages in both Armenia and Artsakh from these brutal attacks. But we can help do something about it, together!

Funds will be matched dollar for dollar up to $300,000 (by several anonymous donors who are contributing in honor of our brave fallen soldiers), for a total of $600,000. Let’s start 2021 on a positive note. Please help us meet this challenge.

Frequently visit the Emergency Relief and Reconstruction Artsakh project on The Paros Foundation website for updates, and follow us on social media.

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All donations made through this link will be matched up to $300,000 regardless of the amount.

Paros Foundation Project Manager, Armen Simonyan, was recently interviewed by the Public TV of Armenia 1TV news segment about our new resettlement program for displaced families from Artsakh through our Emergency Relief & Reconstruction Artsakh Fund. Watch the clip to see more of the initial stages of our resettlement program and other projects on the border!

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Here are the highlights…

• Our first priority for families to resettle are those who are interested in moving to Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur in the Tavush Region. We have selected this village as the first place to move five or six families because we have completed considerable work in this village including renovation of the school, kindergarten and medical center, water infrastructure improvements, and the launch of several nearby economic development opportunities. Soon our team will begin taking families to visit this community, after which, we will select the families.
• The stories we are hearing from these families are absolutely heartbreaking. Our team has interviewed and met with 30 families from Artsakh and are continuing the interview process. Once we have approved the families for resettlement we will share their stories.
• We have already identified and are in the process of purchasing homes in Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur and are beginning the renovation process soon.

Want to be part of the positive impact we are making for these families while doubling your impact? Consider donating to our Emergency Relief & Reconstruction – Artsakh matching donation challenge. Together we can help our brothers and sisters in Armenia and Artsakh who need it most.