When the Soviet Pilots took a break, I took over (LOL.)

Today, I am celebrating a rare anniversary from my Los Angeles home.  Thirty years ago this day my size 13 shoes touched Armenian soil for the first time.  Given the global pandemic facing the world, it is a strange time for a “celebration,” but it is a great time for some reflection. Over this last 30 years, I have made 69 trips to Armenia and hold tickets (that are now delayed and rescheduled) for number 70.  A bunch of stuff has changed for sure during this time–Soviet Armenia became The Republic of Armenia and has now undergone a revolution to become the “New Armenia.”

If you know me, you know I have a lot to say about everything, but the story of my first few days in Armenia had some notable highlights I want to share.

I was traveling to Armenia as an envoy aboard a Soviet cargo plane (an Antonov 124 for you aviation buffs, with a gross flight weight of 1 million pounds and a Soviet crew of 7), whose cargo was earmarked as earthquake relief supplies bound for Gyumri.  My job was to oversee the process and ensure the supplies made it to Gyumri without loss or graft.

Here I am on the ground at the airport waiting to begin the unloading process.

I arrived into Zvartnots Airport just outside of Yerevan, Armenia (then still part of the crumbling Soviet Union) at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time on April 22, 1990.  We locked up the airplane and agreed to return the next morning to begin the unloading process.  I asked for a taxi to take me to Hotel Armenia.  A kind officer, who notified me that there were no taxis available, took me to the hotel with his own car.  On the way, as he was zooming along in his old Lada, I asked him where Mt. Ararat was because I wanted to absolutely see our majestic mountain as soon possible.  The officer essentially slammed on his brakes and swerved to the right and looked over his shoulder and pointed to the right and said proudly “there it is!” (in Armenian of course.) It was one of those picture perfect views of Mt. Ararat that remained burned in my memory until today.

I arrived to Hotel Armenia at about 6 a.m. and understood that check-in does not open until 9 a.m.  I settled down in the area in front of the check-in desk and waited with two other guys that kept trying to talk with me in Russian.  Note: At this point in my life, I was working with some very basic Western Armenian that I tried to learn as an undergrad at U of Michigan (Go Blue!).  We really couldn’t communicate, but they pegged me as a Westerner-and I pegged them as hard-core Soviet.  About an hour into our none existent conversation, one of them shows me his Soviet passport. I notice that they were from Uzbekistan.  Hmmm, if memory serves, Uzbek is a Turkic language; so, in my best Turkish I asked them if they understand me.  Much to all of our delights, we had a mutual language after all.  Turns out that these guys were sent from Uzbekistan to Armenia to oversee the construction of a housing project in the earthquake zone as part of the massive Soviet response to the 1988 Spitak Earthquake.  Who the hell would have ever thought that my first meaningful conversation in Armenia, would be in Turkish, with two Soviet Uzbeks!

April 23 was spent at the airport with stories to fill 10 more posts at some later date.

The streets were filled with people in the procession to the Armenian Genocide Memorial.

Just outside of the Armenian Genocide Monument on the 75th.

Near the eternal flame inside the Armenian Genocide Monument.

The next day was April 24.  It just so happened that it was the 75th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.  It was a very powerful day.  I connected with one of my friends who was studying in Armenia, and we made the pilgrimage to the Armenian Genocide Monument at Tsitsernakaberd.  The local buzz was that on that day, one million people visited the monument.  Seeing the massive parade of the elderly, freedom fighters, families and children, I could believe that number. When we arrived to pay our respects, the flowers around the eternal flame were already five feet high by 12 noon.  I never thought that I would have the honor of visiting Tsitsernakabert on exactly April 24 two other occasions in 2007 with my wife and daughters, and on April 24, 2015 to commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

I made a new friend at dinner one evening at Hotel Armenia.

Thinking back, when Armenia emerged as an independent country, we fought to keep its people alive and the country from collapse or being invaded by one of its hostile neighbors.  Later, my work with The Paros Foundation allowed me to engage Armenia and her people directly through humanitarian and development work.  Now, thirty years later, I am kind of proud to report my Armenian is a bit better and so is Hayastan!  As we all stay at home this April 24th and commemorate the 105 anniversary of Turkey’s failure to exterminate our people, plan YOUR first or next trip to the homeland.  Figure out how you and your family can connect and make it a reality.  Be safe and go wash your hands.

Together with the head of the consolidated community in Berd we are working on #FeedingArmenia. In the 17 villages and towns in the Berd area, there is some 800 people including the elderly and disabled, who are in urgent need of food. With the stay at home mandates from the government, the people in these border villages can no longer work, resulting in a lack of food and other essentials for survival. Donate today and make a difference for someone in Armenia today.

Food packs from the March distribution. With additional funds, more necessary food packs can be delivered.

As the Covid-19 Virus impacts people around the world, I would like to update the Paros community regarding the pandemic’s effects on Armenia and Paros’ work in the homeland.

• To the best of our knowledge, our supporters, beneficiaries and
  staff are safe and healthy.
• Armenia has more than 700 cases of the virus. Seven people have passed away. Armenia is in the midst of a national stay at home order. Police are enforcing this mandate with the hope of containing the spread. All none essential work has stopped throughout Armenia including construction.
• Our team is working from their homes and respecting the seriousness of this pandemic, while strategizing and planning for the lifting of the stay at home order. At the Debi Arach Children’s Center in Gyumri, we have committed to continue paying our staff during the closure, our on-staff psychologist is checking in with the children regularly, and we are providing food packages for all families of Debi Arach with guidelines on safety protocols for receiving and cleaning the delivered items.
• In the United States, The Paros Team is also respecting the stay at home order and are preparing for the future – Armenia will need our support more than ever, once this virus impact subsides. We continue to accept new contributions, new project submissions and inquiries.

Please…stay healthy and be cautious,

Peter J. Abajian
Executive Director

We are dedicated to providing consistent meals, psychological support, and structured in-home learning to the youth. Although the facility is currently closed, we are working hard to ensure the physical and emotional well-being of all students and staff.

• To our knowledge, the direct school community are safe and virus-free.
• We have committed to continue paying our staff during the closure.
• We are working closely with our on-staff psychologist, who is checking in with the kids each week to help them navigate their lives during this challenging time.
• We want to make sure the students still receive consistent, adequate nutrition so we are providing food packages for all families of Debi Arach with guidelines on safety protocols for receiving and cleaning the items.

The need for our help in Armenia is greater than ever. Please consider supporting our intense and comprehensive efforts to make a major positive impact during this trying time by using the link below to donate to Debi Arach. We wish our supporters, families, and staff great health, friendship, love, and….patience!

About Debi Arach

To date, the center has already had several important successes. At least nine children have been taken out of boarding schools, attend our center and now live back at home with their families. Many of the children who were receiving poor grades in school are now achieving top scores. The children have become socially well adjusted and much healthier than before with the continued consumption of multi-vitamins and a daily well-balanced meal. Staff trainings have begun with an academic counsel of professionals from the United States and Armenia to ensure that the children are receiving the best care, treatment, and methods for their development.

Not a great photo, but here we are in Gyumri with our friend and partner, Vahan Tumasyan from the Shirak Center NGO.

The Paros team just got back from Gyumri yesterday, where we selected three more families to be moved from “domiks” into apartments.  This makes six families we have selected and will move this month thanks to the generous support of the Jack Youredjian Family Foundation, and 17 families in total to date.  24 people including two people with disabilities, three seniors, two single moms, one soldier and 10 young children (five of which will now be kept out of boarding schools!) are moving to new apartments in the coming couple of weeks.  The process by which this program operates, and how family selections are made is something I am often asked about, and something our team often discusses, argues about and loses sleep over.  Here’s the deal–I don’t promise that this post will be fun and exciting, but I am going to try and make it informational at the least:

The Domik Problem:

Gayane Matevosyan (age 7) was awoken by a rat attack in her bed.

There is a ton of information in our Purchase a Home projects on our site about the domiks.  Essentially, 30 years ago, following the Spitak Earthquake (about 35,000 people dead and more than 100,000 homeless), moving into empty overseas shipping containers was a good idea.  Fast forward to 2019, these temporary shelters have turned into literally a house of horrors.  Rats, wild dogs, lice add to the grief these people face.  I would estimate that 99% of these domiks do not have a normal bathroom nor bathing facilities.  Some don’t have running water.  All of them are freezing in the winter and scorching in the summer.  Gayane, who is seven years old, woke up last week in her bed from a rat attack.  She is one of the children who we are moving into a new apartment with her family.  As I said, these domiks are literally a house of horrors.

The Matevosyan domik has no running water and a fair amount of smoke from the wood burning heater.

How can there still be a couple of thousand families living in these conditions, when the government says they have now provided all the families that lost homes in the earthquake an apartment?  The answer to this question is a bit complicated and best discussed over drinks.  First, the government developed a list of every family that was living in government provided housing.  These are the families that ultimately were provided new housing.  If they were living in Gyumri and paying rent, or living in a single family home, or not registered to a specific apartment, they didn’t qualify.  Secondly, through the decades, these families have grown.  It may have been the case 30 years ago that a newly married family with two small children lost their apartment.  30 years later, those children have grown up, perhaps have gotten married, and now have families of their own.  Even if that family received a two bedroom apartment because that is what they lost 30 years ago, how could three families of 10 or 12 people be expected to live in that new apartment.  In this situation, typically one or two of those families would stay in domiks and one would take the apartment.  Finally, back in the day under old leadership, there was a healthy portion of corruption when it came to rebuilding apartments, distributing new apartment and distributing apartment certificates (basically cash certificates to allow one to purchase an apartment on the free market.)  This too left many families with no housing options.

The Apartment:

When we have donor funding in place, our team hits the ground running in Gyumri and works with list.am, Gyumri real estate brokers, and searches through apartment complexes in the Mush II neighborhood for apartments for sale.  The apartments we help secure need to be free of debt and encumbrances and be eligible for resale on the free market.  We also avoid buying apartments from people who do not have a plan on where they are going to live (i.e. we don’t want to contribute to the domik problem in Gyumri.) If the apartments need to be remodeled or if the family needs some basic furniture or appliances, we try and outfit the apartment to the extent our budget permits.  In the past, we have purchased studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments for families depending on the family’s needs.

The Purchase Process:

At the time of contract signing, we bring the entire family to the State Notary Service to have them sign the Purchase Contract with the Seller (nope, no escrow service in Armenia yet!)  We provide the stack of cash to the purchasing family, and they then slide it across the table to the sellers.  The Notary verifies the transaction and the beneficiary family is now legal owner of the new apartment.  At the same sitting, the beneficiary family signs a gift agreement with The Paros Foundation that indicates they are obliged to live in their new apartment until their youngest child turns 18 or for 10 years (whichever is longer.)  They cannot rent, sell or live elsewhere without our permission, or we can take the apartment away from them.  Our goal with this is to ensure a new start for this family.  Secondly, the family agrees to give us their old domik so our friends at the Shirak Center can tear it down and make certain no onewill ever live in those unbearable conditions again.  Then, we help submit the signed purchase contract to the State Cadastre so the family can pick up their new deed in a few days.  Once this is completed, our Shirak Center friends help move the family into their new apartment and the domik tear down begins.

The Family Selection Process:

Family selection is the tough part of this process.  We are not playing God, but sometimes it feels like we are.  How can you look at someone living in a trash heap with rats and pass that family over for another?  It is tough and I think some of my white hair is because of this project.  O.K.  Here is the process we follow.  First, we depend on advice and guidance from Vahan Tumasyan at the Shirak Center NGO.  He is the expert in Gyumri on these families.  Together, with Vahan and our Paros colleagues, we have probably been in 200+ domiks in Gyumri over the last five years. Some of these visits have been to help distribute firewood or food through our other humanitarian projects in Gyumri. Second, we sometimes depend on direction from a donor.  Sometimes we are asked to find a family with lots of children to move; and sometimes, the decision is left to us.  Vahan typically helps us line up several families to visit so we can vet and shorten the list.

The Boghosian Family outside of their domik following the news they would be receiving an apartment in the coming days.

Here are a couple of guidelines we follow:  First, the family has to be willing to surrender their domik to us so we can tear it down.  If they won’t, then we pass them over.  It is hard to believe, but it has happened.  Second, the family has to be trying at some level to work or care for themselves, rather than sitting around waiting for handouts.  I know this sounds harsh, but if you have two families with three kids each, which are you going to support?  The family who’s mother picks potatoes seasonally and the dad that collects recyclables to buy his family bread? Or the family with the mom and dad that sit at home and say there is no work to be found?  Third, while visiting families, we look for signs that they can be successful in their new apartments.  If their domik is as clean as the conditions permit, this is an indication that they would care for their apartment in a similar fashion.  If things in their domik are organized, this again is a potential indicator of future success.  The same indicators exist and stand out with the relationship between the parent or parents and their children.  If there is any indication that there is a strong tie to education for their children, this too helps in our vetting process.  Finally, the family has to have some income to be able to pay the bills in their new apartment.  This income can be pensions, salary, support from family outside of Armenia, etc.  The realities of what these people go through on a daily basis have distorted their family situations to an extreme.  Our goal again, is to provide a beneficiary family with a home so that their family would be successful in living what one might call a more normal life.

In closing, I think it is important to state as part of this last trip to Gyumri, we visited several of the families that have previously benefited from our Purchase A Home project and they were all doing great!  It was absolutely wonderful seeing families and children that looked well, apartments that were clean and so many smiles.  A great big thanks to everyone that has supported this life changing project in the past.

Meet Joe Chelebian!  Joe is 16 and lives in the Los Angeles area.  To help his fellow Armenians, Joe decided to launch a charity drive to raise funds and dental hygiene products from his community at St. James Armenian Church in Los Angeles.  This effort will be benefiting the Mobile Dental Clinic and the Apelian Dental Clinic at the Prkutyun Center in Armenia, both projects of The Paros Foundation.

Joe’s effort successfully raised $3,974.  Beyond these funds, which will be used to support dental screenings for almost 625 children, 2,500 toothbrushes were donated, 1,200 tubes of toothpaste were collected and almost one mile of dental floss!

Thank you Joe and the St. James Armenian Church family for your support of this important effort!

Sarah Derderian enjoying the afternoon with one of her four legged friends.

Almost three years ago I made the move from Philadelphia, PA to Gyumri, Armenia to work at the Debi Arach Children’s Center. What I expected to be a one-year assignment has evolved into a longer-term, life changing adventure. Since the day I arrived, I have been asked the same question repeatedly from everybody I meet (whether they are from Armenia or elsewhere.) “Why Armenia? Why Gyumri?”. The “Why Armenia?” question is very simple to answer.  I am one of many repatriates who were born outside of our motherland, but decided to move back. “Why Gyumri?” is the question that I struggle putting its answer into words.

Today, Gyumri is commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Spitak earthquake; the earthquake that took the lives, homes, jobs, and futures of so many people. Now, 30 years later, many locals say that not much has changed. Sure, there are new buildings, new businesses, new places to go, but an uneasyness arises any time the topic of the earthquake is mentioned. A city that was once the cultural capital of Armenia, which prospered under the Soviet Union, the home of some of Armenia’s most famous comedians, playwrights, and artists,  is now a place  where many people struggle daily to survive. Three generations of people continue to live in what seems to be a never-ending cycle of poverty.

 Why Gyumri? I chose Gyumri because there islife outside of Yerevan and I wanted to move to a community where I felt I could contribute to a greater cause. I chose Gyumri because I believe in the power of education and the importance of nurturing the next generation. I chose Gyumri to instill hope among students who may not believe in a future.

 Gyumri is not an easy place to live. On the contrary, it’s very difficult to live in a community riddled in poverty and in many aspects stuck in a Soviet mentality. But, what gets me through is my work at Debi Arach and the hope that the investment we make in this next generation will be a solid step in moving Gyumri forward. I currently work with an amazing group of children who are the next generation of Armenia’s doctors, politicians, programmers, and leaders. 

 I guess I’m here to say that there is hope in Gyumri, and that’s “Why Gyumri.”

Sarah Derderian works as development officer and special projects director at the Debi Arach Children’s Center in Gyumri.  Sarah has also founded the D.O.G.-Dogs of Gyumri project, which works to spray and neuter street dogs and arrange for adoptions of puppies.  Be sure to visit Sarah, Debi Arach and D.O.G when you are in Armenia.

Its only Tuesday and I have already been asked twice this week about our “100%” promise, so I thought I would take a moment and explain this significant part of our Paros philanthropic model.

Thanks to the on-going commitment and generosity of the Strauch-Kulhanjian Family and our Founder and Chairman, Roger Strauch, 100% of donor contributions (a.k.a. funds that we raise from the community) are applied directly and entirely to fund projects in Armenia.  These are either projects that we have identified and are implementing, or projects that donors have identified and partnered with us on their funding and implementation.  Roger and his family annually underwrite 100% of The Paros Foundation’s administrative costs.  Salaries (two full-time in the U.S. and three in Armenia,) our travel to and from and within Armenia, office supplies, postage, marketing materials, etc. all add up, and we are fortunate to continue to have Roger’s and his family’s support to underwrite these necessities. This significant commitment has helped build trust between our Foundation and the community and allows us to be fully transparent.

If you are thinking about Thanksgiving and “Giving Tuesday,” please keep Paros and our 100% promise in mind!

Its been a while since I blogged about our current activities.  Certainly NOT because our team is not getting things done, but just the contrary! We are in our pre-summer run up to SERVICE Armenia 2018 and a in the midst of planning for a terrific fundraiser in New York on June 7th.  I have to say, it has been difficult being in the US watching from afar the incredible changes that are taking place in Armenia this last month.  I honestly feel cheated that I am not in Hayastan. My timing really does suck.  I have been in Armenia each year for the last 12 years for no less than three months a year via four or five trips annually–and I missed it!  But, I will be in Armenia in a couple of weeks and we have accomplished a bunch of important things.

Our team in Armenia is working on several smaller projects with funds remaining from our Support Our Heroes project that is worth mentioning today.

One of Nodorik’s new piglets.

Several weeks ago, construction was completed on the barn in the village of Gugark for the family of Nodorik Margaryan. We paid for all the materials, labor and supplied them with three piglets and feed.  We are hopeful this will help them expand their agribusiness and allow them to better care for themselves.

Roof renovations in process.

Up in Saragukh, a village near Novemberyan, we are helping a father/son soldier team with roofing materials to complete the construction of their village home.  These men and their family moved to this village and are living in a rented home until they are able to finish construction.  They are both contract soldiers and are stationed about five kilometers away from their home on the border.

Fitting for a new prosthetic leg.

Late last week, our colleague Gegham met a soldier who is stationed in Artsakh.  About two years ago he had his foot and part of his leg blown off from a landmine.  The prosthetic leg that he was given has continuously given him problems with sores and open wounds.  So, Gegham met him in Yerevan at the master prosthetic maker in town to fit him and we ordered him a new prosthetic.  Hopefully this higher quality leg will fit him better and allow him to get around easier.

Finally, we are supporting cancer treatments for the mother of a soldier that was injured and left partially disabled as a result of the April war.  We have supported two rounds of treatments and we are hopeful that her condition will improve.

We have lots of big projects moving forward in full swing that I will report on from Armenia, but I didn’t want these important, but smaller projects to be overlooked.

As Armenians come together today around the world to commemorate the 103^rdanniversary of the Armenian Genocide, our thoughts and prayers not only remember the 1.5 million Armenians who perished at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish government, but turn to our compatriots living in this remarkable time in Armenia.

Scores of fearless people, facing uncertain consequences, took to the streets leading a well-organized, peaceful protest aimed at preventing a power-grab by Serzh Sargsyan, who had pledged not to pursue the office of Prime Minister following Armenia’s change to a parliamentary form of government. Calls for acts of peaceful civil disobedience initiated by young people and then joined by tens of thousands of citizens from all walks of life culminated in Sargsyan’s resignation. Throughout these tense days, both citizens and Armenia’s police exercised incredible restraint.  The protestors, police and Sargsyan himself should celebrate the fact that Armenia is maturing and its growing pains were not met with loss of life, but rather a peaceful transition.

In the coming days, what the future holds for our homeland and its citizens is unknown.  On behalf of The Paros Foundation, we join in the spirit of positive change and collaboration to build a bright future for Armenia’s children.  We support our brothers and sisters in Hayastan on their path to long-term nation building over short-term personal gain. We, at Paros remain committed to mobilize Diasporan support for the implementation of valuable projects and the progressive leadership necessary to ensure their long-term success.

By remembering our past, we will build a homeland together that is safe, secure and prosperous, and one that our ancestors would be proud to call “Mer Hayrenik.”