The Ghoghanj Children’s Center located in the Kentron of Yerevan provides afterschool and summer school programs for approximately 85 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.

The villages of Jajur, Keti and Marmarashen do not have functioning kindergartens for their children.  Not only does this place these children at a disadvantage when they start school, but it also makes it more difficult for parents who wish to use kindergarten time to work and earn money to help their families.  

The local consolidated community has completed the renovations necessary to launch the operation of these three kindergartens.  Once open, these villages will also benefit from added job opportunities for cooks, teachers and aids.  The kindergartens are each in need of their kitchens being installed and their appliances and supplies being purchased. The Paros Foundation will raise the funds necessary through this project to equip these kindergarten kitchens and allow them to begin operations.  

The village of Aygedzor is located within the Berd Consolidated Community of Armenia’s Tavush Region.  The village is home to more than 2,000 residents.  The community operates two kindergartens to serve the children in the village, however one of them is located in a building in terrible condition.  The Berd Consolidated Community has asked The Paros Foundation to renovate and expand this kindergarten for the Aygedzor Village. Once completed, two groups of kindergartens will be able to benefit from this work.  

The municipality of Yerevan is providing approximately $12,200 towards this important project.  

The Akunk village is located in Armenia’s Geghagunik Region and home to more than 4,500 people.  The community is located in the more isolated portion of the Geghagunik Region to the east of Lake Sevan.  The economy of this village is primarily agriculture based, however some of the villagers work in the city of Vardenis as Akunk is located immediately outside of Vardenis.  

In 2020, the governor’s office supported the creation of a new medical center for the community in an existing building.  Unfortunately, the funds provided were not enough to complete the full renovation and the medical center continues to operate from a single room in one of the village’s schools.  

To resolve this issue and to help create a functioning medical center for the community, The Paros Foundation will complete the remodel of the five room medical center and equip the building with proper heat and some furniture if funding provides.  The work to complete the center should take approximately two months.  

Choratan is a village of 900 residents located in the Berd Consolidated Community within Armenia’s Tavush Region.  Choratan is located in an isolated section along the Armenian border with Azerbaijan.  

Through the support of FAR, a new heating system was installed throughout the school including new boilers, pipes and radiators, however the main gas connection to the school was not installed.  The Paros Foundation received a request from the Governor’s office in Tavush to help fund the installation of the gas pipeline to the school in Choratan.  

Once funded, the gas company will install a new gas connection to this remote village school to enable the heating system to operate.  In addition, this will allow the school to stop burning wood to keep the classrooms heated.  It is expected that it will take one month from the time of funding to complete the work.

The Ghoghanj Children’s Center located in the Kentron of Yerevan provides afterschool and summer school programs for approximately 85 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.

Economic opportunities for rural Armenian communities are scarce.  These opportunities along Armenia’s border frontier with Azerbaijan are even more limited.  To help address this important issue, The Paros Foundation has launched several initiatives aimed at job creation in rural communities.  This includes planting more than 800 fruit-bearing trees, establishing a large scale rabbit farm, fertilizer production, small animal feed production and honey production.  These economic development opportunities are all administered under the auspices of the Aygepar Business Incubator, which provides rent-free space, sanitary conditions and marketing and technical expertise to local businesses.

The Paros Foundation has launched a high quality honey production just outside of the village of Verin Tsakhavan in the Berd area of Armenia’s Tavush Region with 50 bee hives.  The immediate goal is to grow this production to 200 bee hives over the next two years to create commercially viable quantities of high-altitude, raw honey.  This will lead to expanded job creation and opportunities in the market place as all components of this important project are manufactured locally in the Armenian market including hives, bee families, wax starter sheets and concrete block stands.  Even the glass jars for sale are manufactured in Armenia!

One complete hive and bee colony costs $250. New hives and colonies will be added to expand the total number in the spring. Individuals that sponsor a complete hive will receive one jar of honey from this year’s harvest, a certificate indicating what number hive was established with their support and the opportunity to personalize their honey jar. Please follow this link to personalize your jar of honey: https://forms.gle/Wv1ejDr8QL4yVo3PA

The village of Hatsik is located about ten minutes from the city of Armavir in Armenia’s Armavir region about 60 kilometers from Yerevan. Hatsik is home to 2,560 residents. The village has one school with 260 children in attendance. In 2013, The Paros Foundation and its SERVICE Armenia program began the renovation of one of the two buildings on campus. Over the course of four years, renovations were made to three bathrooms, twelve classrooms, the hallways, gym and locker room. The facade of the building was also repaired. The school’s auditorium needs to be renovated to facilitate school gathers and performances. This renovation will include the replacement of the windows and doors, rebuilding of the stage, new electrical, new paint and new seating. The renovation will also include the cosmetic renovation of the hall immediately in front of the entrance to the auditorium.

The site of the Terchoonian Home, located in Gyumri Armenia, holds great historical significance. It was an orphanage during the Armenian Genocide managed by the Near East Relief, a social and economic development organization established in 1915. It later became a military headquarters for the Soviet army. In 1988, the building was heavily damaged during the devastating Spitak Earthquake. Due to support by the Terchoonian Family, and the hard work and dedication of the late Archbishop Mesrob Ashjian and Romen Gozmoyan, the building was purchased and renovated. The Terchoonian Home Orphanage opened its doors again in 2003 through the generous donation by the Terchoonian Family honoring the late Vahan Terchoonian. The Terchoonian Family chose Gyumri as it was the city Terchoonian found refuge in after escaping from Turkey, before eventually immigrating to the United States.

Today, the orphanage houses 84 children and operates a school that serves a total of 115 children with 54 individuals on staff. This historic building, specifically its third floor, is in need of emergency repairs prior to another harsh Gyumri winter. Sponsorship of this project will help urgently complete renovations, which include repairs to fix several leaks in the roof, replacement of 32 windows on the third floor (several of which have been boarded up because there is no glass in them or they don’t close), new doors for the third floor corridor (at each staircase), balcony, bedrooms and classrooms, and new carpeting for the rooms with water damage where children stay. Furthermore, the exterior walls on the third floor are made of asbestos panels, which have been poorly installed, are not water tight and have caused the third floor carpeting in the rooms to become damp and foul over time. The asbestos panels will be replaced with a new exterior wall that will be weather/water tight. Additional repairs are also needed, such as repairs to water pipes and partial renovation of two bathrooms (including drain pipes and the addition of a shower stall), but will be addressed after the above urgent needs are met. These renovations to the orphanage are important to not only keep the children and staff safe, warm and protected from illnesses that may arise due to poor conditions, but also to help preserve a building that holds such significance for Armenian history in its walls.

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 180 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 five 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. $80,000 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. In 2019, with the long term commitment by Dr. & Mrs. Gary and Linda Assarian (MI) the vocational training program was renamed the Assarian Vocational Training Program.