Story Beyond The Ruins is an oral history project documenting the earthquake that rocked not only its epicenter Spitak, but the entire nation of Armenia. Launched in 2017 by United States Peace Corps volunteers, Michael Chen and Max Malter, and American University of Armenia student, Arpine Hovannisyan, the project aims to preserve memories and lived experiences from and beyond the 1988 Spitak Earthquake (also known as the Armenian Earthquake) through a collection of interviews. Through their conversations with individuals, they have tried to provide a canvas for an authentic depiction of life during and after the earthquake. Their goal is to publish the stories online and continue conducting interviews and building upon their collection of stories. Story Beyond The Ruins operates with the help of volunteers. They have partnered with our organization to help raise the funds needed,$2,400, to continue to gather interviews, maintain their website and market their efforts for the next three years.

The young men and women behind Story Beyond The Ruins hope that these stories will strengthen the Armenian heritage of storytelling and give outsiders a glimpse into a profound event that led up to modern Armenia today. you can listen to these interviews on the Story Beyond The Ruins website at www.storybeyondtheruins.com

Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur is a village with approximately 1,100 residents in the Bert area of Armenia’s Tavush Region. This community lives on the border with Azerbaijan under the risk of sniper fire and renewed armed conflict.

Late last year a pump house, pump and pipelines were installed to provide 110 households in Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur, an estimated 500 people, each day with water. This was done because the supply of water to the water pipeline distribution network was not sufficient. With these improvements, each of these homes receive water daily and the lower reservoir now has enough water to also supply two additional groups of 30 neighboring homes with the installation of two additional pipelines, one 900 meters and the other 1,100 meters long, from the existing newly built pump house.

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the City of Gyumri. Many of these families took refuge in the overseas shipping containers (domiks) that were shipped into Armenia loaded with humanitarian relief supplies, or in condemned buildings. An entire generation of children has grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat. The Armenian government has provided most of the families that lost their homes in the Earthquake with new housing units.

As people moved out of those makeshift housing units, others moved in. The 2,500 families that remain are Gyumri’s desolate families, who are not in line to receive a government provided apartment. Many of these families are comprised of single mothers, multiple children and/or the disabled. This is a sustainable model in that families that have been moved into permanent housing in the past have had a high degree of success maintaining their families and their new homes.

Aghonik Galoyan is a single mother.   She lives in a tiny domik with her mother and her son, Nareg.  Nareg has attended The Paros Foundation operated Debi Arach Children’s Center since it was opened in 2015.  He is a good student. Aghonik earns extra money seasonally by planting and picking potatoes.   The Galoyan family will dramatically benefit from a new home.

Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be destroyed to prevent its future occupancy.

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the City of Gyumri. Many of these families took refuge in the overseas shipping containers (domiks) that were shipped into Armenia loaded with humanitarian relief supplies, or in condemned buildings. An entire generation of children has grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat. The Armenian government has provided most of the families that lost their homes in the Earthquake with new housing units.

As people moved out of those makeshift housing units, others moved in. The 2,500 families that remain are Gyumri’s desolate families, who are not in line to receive a government provided apartment. Many of these families are comprised of single mothers, multiple children and/or the disabled. This is a sustainable model in that families that have been moved into permanent housing in the past have had a high degree of success maintaining their families and their new homes.

Anna Boghosian is a single mother.  Her husband abandoned the family just before their youngest child was born.  Because of the difficult conditions in their domik, the girls have attended boarding school for the last several years.  Anna’s father also lives with them.  He is a war hero from the Artsakh war and was a tank gunner.  He spent the last year in Russia working to try and earn some money to make improvements to the families domik. The Boghosyan family will dramatically benefit from a new home.

Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be destroyed to prevent its future occupancy.

The Kharpert Home for Special Children is an orphanage located in the village of Nor Kharpert, and serves more than 250 children with varying degrees of developmental disabilities. The orphanage is a state run facility that receives governmental support to provide these vulnerable children with their basic care and education.

Excursions for these children to amusement parks and/or other appropriate venues provide these them with both valuable community experience and needed recreation. Children with disabilities in Armenia are generally kept sheltered from society. These children do not attend school, but rather attend classes at the orphanage. It is important for both these children and society for these children to experience community life.

For each donation of $250, approximately 20 children and an appropriate number of care provides will be able to go on an excursion to Yerevan at Victory Park, or another appropriate venue for a morning or afternoon of activities including transportation, admission and snacks. Please consider supporting multiple excursions for these children.

The Kanakeravan Fine Arts School is located in the village of Kanakeravan about 30 minutes outside of Yerevan and serves both this village and a neighboring village. The School provides afterschool program in several of the fine arts including music, dance, pottery, painting and needle work to more than 125 children annually. The School has a committed staff and principal that ensure that their personal passion for the arts is upheld and taught to these children.

The Paros Foundation has provided the school in past years with two new pianos and renovated the schools restroom and multipurpose room. The school is still in need of renovations to several of the classrooms and hallways including new flooring, doors, windows, paint and lighting. The local government provides the Art School support for their administrative expenses, while the students pay a modest monthly fee. Unfortunately, the support and fees are not enough to allow the school to complete the renovations on their own. Sponsorship of this project will help renovate a total of nine classroom/practice rooms and two administrative office.

The village of Paruyr Sevak was founded in 1978 and named after the famous poet Paruyr Sevak.  The village is located in the Ararat Region and is near the border of Nakhchivan and occasionally receives cross border sniper fire.  Almost 600 people live in the village of Paruyr Sevak.  Currently 16 children attend the preschool.  The village does not have a working kindergarten, nor an appropriate public gathering space for events and activities.  There is no gas infrastructure in the area, so families burn wood or use electricity to heat their homes and public buildings.  Improvements were recently made to the drinking water infrastructure for homes in Paruyr Sevak.  Irrigation water continues to be a problem for the village and dramatically effects their ability to farm.

The goal of this project is to rebuild several wings of the building that currently houses the preschool.  This will facilitate three major things for the village.  First, it will allow for the expansion for the preschool to accommodate additional children who are not attending due to the current poor conditions.  Second, it will allow the village of Paruyr Sevak to establish a kindergarten for the village.  Currently the village has 33 children awaiting the establishment of a kindergarten.  This will help these children receive the benefits of early education.  Finally, the renovation of a large assembly hall will allow the village to have an appropriate space to gather for various meetings and community activities.

This project will be implemented in phases as funding becomes available.  The first phase will include the renovation of the second story preschool space and will cost $18,500.  The second phase will include the renovation of the first story kindergarten space and the adjacent kitchen and will cost $28,500.  The third and final phase will include the renovation of the main entryway, the community assembly hall and the building’s entry courtyard and will cost $22,000.

The Ghoghanj Children’s Center located in the Kentron of Yerevan provides afterschool and summer school programs for approximately 60 children every month. Children who attend the Center are loosely defined as “at risk.” These children typically come from very poor households, often times with a single head of household, who cannot pay for such assistance. The goal of the Ghoghanj Children’s Center is to provide the necessary academic, psychological and social support to ensure that the children attending mature to well adjusted, successful, young adults.

In order to further impact more “at-risk” children, the Center has identified a need for this model to be replicated and offered to other communities in Armenia. Through the generous support of the Dadourian Foundation, a second center for “at-risk” children was opened in 2014 in the Nor Nork neighborhood of Yerevan to provide support to 85 additional children annually. The new center has provided students the same core classes daily (English, Russian, Computer, Design, Painting, Theater and Dance) as the Ghoghanj Children’s Center – Kentron. The goal of this project is to broaden the services offered to socially vulnerable children and families in other communities and provide them with the proper support and guidance needed to excel in school and become self-confident and respectful young adults.

Amount will include rent, utilities, teacher salaries, maintenance and additional improvements, and supplies.

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the City of Gyumri. Many of these families took refuge in the overseas shipping containers (domiks) that were shipped into Armenia loaded with humanitarian relief supplies, or in condemned buildings. An entire generation of children has grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat. The Armenian government has provided most of the families that lost their homes in the Earthquake with new housing units.

As people moved out of those makeshift housing units, others moved in. The 2,500 or so families that remain are Gyumri’s desolate families, who are not in line to receive a government provided apartment. Many of these families are comprised of single mothers, multiple children and/or the disabled. This is a sustainable model in that families that have been moved into permanent housing in the past have had a high degree of success maintaining their families and their new homes.

The Matevosyan family has been identified as a family in need of a new home.  Marina, her husband Gevorg and their three children have lived in this domik since Marina and Gevorg purchased it for $1,200 nine years ago.  Gevorg works as a contract soldier and is currently stationed at the border with Azerbaijan.  The family has no running water and their domik is infested with rats. Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be dismantled to prevent its future occupancy.

The Paros Foundation launched the Debi Arach Children’s Center in Gyumri, Armenia on April 15, 2015 with the help of generous donors. The center, which provides 170 children each week the necessary academic, psychological, social and humanitarian support, has since been a source of positivity in this city. The residents of Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city have endured very devastating realities since the tragic 1988 Spitak Earthquake. More than 100,000 residents were left homeless, and plagued with unemployment and rampant poverty for years to come. In turn, the fate of children in Gyumri has also been affected. Dealing with the difficulty of finding means to feed and care for their families, many parents are unable to provide their children with the proper guidance, supervision, educational aid and the financial resources for them to excel in school and have successful futures. The Debi Arach Children’s Center, which in Armenian means “moving forward,” helps these socially vulnerable children through a holistic approach providing them with both humanitarian and educational support. The center provides counseling and group therapy with a psychologist on staff, homework help and tutoring for almost every subject the children learn in school including English, Math, Art/Design, and Computer classes. Additionally, they are served a nutritious meal everyday, helping them receive the calories and/or nutrients they would otherwise not have. Furthermore, the Center addresses a very important hygienic need by providing the children in attendance with supervised bathing facilities. The goal is to help hundreds of children develop a vision for a successful future, and to give them the skills they need to reach these goals. This project is impacting the lives of hundreds of socially vulnerable children by helping them gain the guidance and support they need in order to create greater future opportunities, and become successful individuals and good citizens.

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 more 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.

The center is working on funding year four and raising additional funds in order to develop and add to the programs and classes offered with the ability to hire more educators, and get more supplies, and equipment. Funds will also be used to supplement daily activities, hold forums for guest speakers and provide educational and career planning opportunities. $77,000 is needed to cover operating costs for the Center. In January of 2017, Debi Arach successfully launched its first program within its Vocational Training Center, teaching children computer programming, 3d printing and robotics curriculum. The goal of this newest component is to provide these children with marketable job skills in order to help them work themselves out of poverty.