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 project will identify suitable needy families who can be moved into a new apartment and can demonstrate that they can afford their monthly utilities, etc. 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.

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

The Azizbekyan family consists of six members including the Azizbekyan parents, their married son and daughter-in-law and their two children (including a newborn.)

The Paros Foundation established the Debi Arach Children’s Center in Gyumri, Armenia on April 15, 2015 with the help of generous donors. The center, which provides 150 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. Furthermore, freezing temperatures and extreme poverty have created humanitarian crisis in Gyumri as well.

One very important need, especially during the winter, is winter coats. Sponsorship towards this effort will ensure that 150 children attending the Debi Arach Children’s Center will receive warm winter coats. Dustin Hochmuth, a SERVICE Armenia 2017 participant will lead the effort in raising funds. He was able to meet the children and witness the difficult living conditions in Gyumri this summer and wants to help! With these warm winter coats these children will be able to stay healthy, and be able to continue to attend school.

Girls of Armenia Leadership Soccer (GOALS) and empowers young girls to see themselves as Armenia’s leaders of tomorrow. They are the only NGO working in the regions of Armenia to use sport for education outside the classroom. Research shows girls who play sports have better mental health, higher confidence levels, improved teamwork and communication skills, increased graduation rates, and leadership skills. With your donation, you make all of that possible for the girls of Armenia.

GOALS directly impacts more than 2,000 girls and boys in 65 communities. Their goal is to increase their impact to every region of the country by expanding their co-ed After-School programs to 50 communities.

GOALS needs supporters of every kind. They want donations, fundraiser sponsors, and volunteers. If you are interested or have questions about where and how GOALS works you can contact them directly at Lorik@goalsarmenia.org.

Investing in GOALS is an investment in the future women leaders of Armenia … and remember, a little bit goes a long way.

Sponsor a League
Our leagues are designed to give young women the chance to play soccer, build confidence and teamwork skills, as well as change public perception of women’s sports. Leagues consist of a minimum of four teams with a nine or more players on each team aged 12-17. Each team is headed by an Armenian coach, who signs a contract committing to one-year of training their team a minimum once-per-week of the season (March – May; September – November) for one hour per session. Teams travel and play one competitive game per week. Sponsoring a league provides all travel costs, referees, nurses, venue space, and all the equipment needed to hold trainings; jerseys, socks, footballs, cones, and pennies for an entire league. Currently we have leagues in Yeghegnadzor, Alaverdi, Goris, and Dilijan. – $3,000 (for a year).

Sponsor a Camp
It’s safe to say there are not many summer sport camp opportunities for girls in Armenia. GOALS leadership summer camps are implemented in areas where GOALS hopes to operate on a longer-term basis, in order to excite the community and motivate the girls to continue playing soccer. Our summer camps are 3 full days and each day consists of sport for social impact games that address gender equity, tolerance, diversity, human rights, and whatever issues the community is facing. Technical drills, lunch, and a leadership seminar including inspiring local guest speakers follow the sessions. Camps bring together communities that often don’t interact and spark the interest that leads to more GOALS programming in the region. – $1,500

Sponsor a Team
Teams are designed to help girls build new friendships, teamwork, and skills to compete. Teams have the opportunity to travel to Yerevan and participate in cross-cultural events. Each team needs coaches, equipment and travel. We currently have 36 teams and will be creating at least ten more in 2018. Sponsoring a team supports these needs for two full seasons/1 year. – $500​

Sponsor a Player
Sponsoring a player is an easy way to make a big impact through a small donation. This donation will pay for one girls uniform, socks, and travel to competitive games – $50

GOALS has already received a grant from the US Democracy Commission for part of this program, in addition to support from COAF and World Vision. The overall budget of this project is $33,500 of which they need $15,000.

Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur (NKA) is an important border village with a population of 1,380 residents in the Bert area of Armenia’s Tavush Region. This community, whose territory connects with Azerbaijan, lives and works under a constant risk of sniper fire and renewed armed conflict each day. NKA was the single most damaged Armenian village following the Azeri conflict in the 1990’s. The economy of the village and the livelihood of many of its residents have suffered due to these difficult and dangerous times. Furthermore, 70% of their fertile land is unusable because of frequent sniper attacks. Many homes have been damaged and worn out over the years and are in need of partial renovations and repairs, including, indoor plumbing, new windows, doors and floors, roof repairs, new heating systems, and even room additions. The village is economically strained and families are in need of additional aid to care for their families, homes and livelihood. Sponsorship of this project will help provide families with materials, technical expertise and/or the necessary labor in order to complete specific renovation projects to their homes. It is of strategic importance to support these villagers in their daily lives so that they may remain inhabitants of this village, mere footsteps from Azerbaijan.

The village of Vahan is located in an isolated border area north of Lake Sevan, and south of Armenia’s Tavush border communities. More than 1,000 people call Vahan their home. According to Armenianow.com residents of Armenia’s border village Vahan (meaning shield) say proudly that their village is the northeast gate, the main border-guard of Armenia. They came here from Artsvashen. This was an Armenian village within the administrative territory of Azerbaijan during the Soviet period; and Azeri villages surrounded it. Armenians left Artsvashen during the Armenian-Azeri conflict years.

The medical center was renovated in the last few years. The village kindergarten, designed for 40 children, which had been closed since 1992, was reopened in November of 2011. Residents maintain livestock and cultivate potatoes to earn a living.

The school, which has 150 students attending, is located 500 meters from the Azeri border. It has been partially renovated by several different organizations. Currently, three classrooms are in need of renovation. Sponsorship of this project will help renovate all three classrooms, including new flooring, paint, doors, windows, electrical work and refurbished furniture. There will also be minor cosmetic renovations done to the entryway of the school.

The Armenia Tree Project and Paros Foundation are joining forces to dramatically improve conditions at the school in the village of Rind. Currently, more than 1,800 people live in Rind and almost 300 children attend the village school. The children do not receive a hot meal because the kitchen and cafeteria are operated from a small space located via a separate entrance behind the school. This situation makes it impossible to cook hot meals for the children. It is often cold and too difficult for the children to access this space in the rainy and snowy months.

Additionally, the school has a large yard that is barren. With the addition of irrigation, the school could accommodate 500+ fruit and shade trees. This would be a tremendous benefit economically for the village, for the environment and for the children’s nutrition.

This project would also introduce environmental education into the school’s curriculum. Age-appropriate methods will be used to teach children of the importance of caring for the environment and its benefits for society. This curriculum would be especially timely given the large and dangerous wildfire that destroyed hectares of old growth forest in the summer of 2017 in the Vayots Dzor region.

The implementation of this project will take three months and include the relocation of the kitchen and cafeteria to an available space in the main school building. New water and sewer lines will be run to the new kitchen. At the same time, water will be provided for irrigation in the schoolyard. The kitchen space will be renovated and joined to the cafeteria. New flooring and wall tiles will be installed, along with new paint and lighting. New kitchen furniture and needed appliances will be purchased and installed. New tables and chairs for the dining room will complete the renovation. Following the renovation work, 550 new fruit and shade trees will be planted at the school via a team of both students, volunteers and paid staff. The expert staff of the Armenia Tree Project will introduce environmental education curriculum to the students.

The mission of Warm Hearth is to provide forever homes for people with special needs who have been abandoned and have outgrown the orphanages. Individuals with special needs are often forgotten in both Armenia and in much of the world. Warm Hearth provides care in a group-home setting that mimics family life to the extent possible and that empowers their residents to live as independently and confidently as possible. At Warm Hearth they value their residents’ social, physical, mental, spiritual and vocational development and strive to provide growth opportunities.

Warm Hearth has planned several excursions for their residents. Excursions can help provide much needed community interaction, recreation and educational opportunities. Sponsorship of this project will help cover costs for these excursions including transportation and admission (if any) for different venues, museums and churches for residents and care providers.

The Kharpert Home for Special Children is an orphanage located in the village of Nor Kharpert serving 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 children 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.

More than 1,200 children live in Armenia’s 15 orphanages. These facilities provide for the children’s basic needs, but their limited budgets do not allow these children to participate in visits to popular historical sites, an amusement park or concert, or attend a cultural event.

Armenia’s orphan children should have the opportunity to experience popular cultural events, exhibits, and excursions in Armenia, or simply have a fun afternoon or activity that they normally would not be able to experience. Many different activities and excursions can be organized for these children. The extent of the activity or trip is directly related to the sponsorship amount. For sponsorships amounts between $250 -$750 approximately 20 children and an appropriate number of chaperons will be able participate in a memorable activity. Please consider supporting multiple excursions for these children.

The Paros Foundation staff and volunteers will organize and oversee the excursion/activity. Opportunities to sponsor excursions for orphanages serving both disabled and non-disabled children exist. Whenever possible, our staff will work with the destination for the excursion to secure group pricing and/or discounts.

Armenia’s northeastern border communities live under the watchful eye of Azeri snipers. In many of these villages, more than 50% of the land remains unusable (both for cultivating and grazing) due to its proximity to the border. In other villages, inadequate infrastructure left over from Soviet times has created unbearable conditions for families to live, learn and work. Many of the husbands and fathers in these communities are heroes–serving as contract soldiers protecting our borders in their villages– while others work as seasonal migrant workers in Russia. Prosperity and our Nation’s security go hand in hand.

As part of the Paros Foundation’s Prosperity on the Border initiative, The Foundation has identified the kindergarten in the village of Aygepar as a needed infrastructure improvement project. Aygepar Village is located in a peninsula jutting into Azerbaijan in a valley surrounded on three sides by Azeri military posts in Armenia’s Tavush region. Almost 500 people call Aygepar their home. The village’s kindergarten was in direct line of site from Azeri snipers and was partially unusable until The International Red Cross built a security wall to protect the children. Other organizations implemented partial poor quality renovations to the kindergarten, but the majority of the building including roof repairs remains unmet.

The kindergarten currently serves almost 20 children. Partial renovations to the building have been completed by various organizations, however the roof, floor and kitchen and bathroom need complete renovation. In addition, one large room will be renovated and converted into an indoor playground for the children’s use.

Aygepar’s Mayor stands ready to assist with contributed labor to help realize this important project for the village.