Agarak is an isolated village with 1,420 residents in the Stepanavan area of Armenia’s Lori Region. The facility is housed in a one-story building that was renovated after the 1988 Spitak Earthquake. (Last renovation is 2006)

The Medical Center consists of five rooms totaling approximately 1320 square feet. This regional medical center serves the needs of both the rural community of Agarak, along with the neighboring communities of Hovnanadzor, Yaghdan and Koghes. The Center needs new windows and doors, repairs to the existing flooring and a freezer for vaccines.

The Paros Foundation team will work with the village administration to ensure that they support the project in as many ways as possible including donated materials, free labor and/or support services.

It is anticipated that the repairs to the medical center will take approximately 3 months depending on weather conditions.

January 2014 Update
The Centaur hippo therapy center, was able to raise the funds and purchase their horses. The center now has asked us to help with the refurbishing of two cabins for overnight therapy opportunities.

The Association of Hippotherapy and Equestrian Sports Centaur NGO provides rehabilitation for physically and mentally afflicted children and adults through hippotherapy, horseback riding and equestrian sports, as well as health and recreation services. Widely recognized throughout the world, hippotherapy method was first introduced into Armenia four years ago by the Centaur staff. Centaur practices hippotherapy in the village of Ushi of Aragatsotn Marz, some 30 km from Yerevan in the North West of Armenia, with specially trained horses. It also owns 8 rescued dogs, a cow and rabbit (aiming to have more domestic animals in the future), all involved in animal therapy. Centaur is not only a hippotherapy center or a horseback riding club. Many of our visitors state that it is a place with special atmosphere where people learn building relationship with animals, through the interaction with horse and dogs overcome many fears, get rid of negative influences of big cities.

Since 2007 we have been working with the children and adults with physical and mental disorders such as CP, autism, mental deficiency, Down syndrome, scoliosis and other spinal problems, nerve system disorders and so on. Within the 4 years of our existence over 100 children and adults have been experiencing a magic healing power of the Horse.

The Heros Humanitarian Foundation (HHF), a Los Angeles based non-profit organization, supports children in need and their educational advancement. The organization was founded in 2008 by six Armenian Americans with the belief that no child should be deprived of the essential necessities needed for their education regardless of their socioeconomic status. Their mission is to provide backpacks and school supplies to children living in poverty and from low socioeconomic households around the world. Through their Packs on Backs initiative, HHF hopes to motivate children, help them stay and excel in school, and have successful futures.

The Heros Humanitarian Foundation has partnered with The Paros Foundation to bring their Packs on Backs initiative to Armenia. The program will launch in Armenian’s second largest city, Gyumri, whose devastating history has left more than 100,000 residents homeless, and plagued with unemployment and rampant poverty. These families often struggle to provide their children with life’s basic necessities; therefore making backpacks and school supplies a distant priority. Our goal is to provide 300 children in Gyumri with backpacks and school supplies and help them stay in school. Sponsorship of this project will help obtain backpacks and school supplies for 300 children in Gyumri, 100 of which will be attending the new Debi Arach Children’s Center and 200 to children from poverty stricken neighborhoods throughout the city. A donation of $30 will help obtain a backpack filled with supplies for one child. School supplies will be grade appropriate and include a combination of pencils, pens, pencil cases, notebooks, folders, erasers, sharpeners, glue, scissors, rulers, highlighters, and crayons. In-kind donations of the items listed are also welcomed.

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.

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. One of these many families is the Grigoryan family. Aram Grigoryan grew up in a domik and now lives there with his wife, Armine, and their two young daughters ages four and seven. An entire generation of children have 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. Unfortunately, the Grigoryans were not among these families and do not qualify for the re-housing program. 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.

Based on a number of factors The Paros Foundation has determined that the Grigoryan family will be successful in maintaining their household in a new apartment. Both Aram and Armine work at the Gyumri Beer Factory, one of the only factories standing in the entire city. Although Armine has a degree in civil and criminal law she is unable to find work in her field. Together they make a modest living of around $300 a month. They are both hard-working and great parents who are making every sacrifice to give their children a decent life. A new home that is warm and safe will be a dream come true. Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit they currently live in will be destroyed to prevent its future occupancy.

Health care for residents living in Armenia’s remote and/or poverty stricken areas is very hard to find and difficult to afford. Residents in these communities have a high rate of health issues that could otherwise be prevented or cured if they had access to simple medical care. In order to help remedy this unfortunate situation, The Paros Foundation has launched Med Aid Armenia.

Med Aid Armenia is made up of medical professionals (practicing or in school) from the United States who are volunteering their time and skills in order to provide residents in these communities with basic medical care. The group of volunteer medical professionals will be working with Armenian’s Health Ministry as well as several doctors from Armenia. The first of these missions will launch this summer starting July 6, 2015 –July 10, 2015. As a first step our target population will receive basic check-ups and screenings. Specifically this summer, Med Aid Armenia will provide basic eye care to children from the village of Hatsik in the Armavir region of Armenia. Basic care will include eye exams and screenings. Following screenings, patients will be provided with referrals for continuing care if needed.

Sponsorship of this project will help raise the necessary funds needed to obtain basic equipment and supplies. In-kind donations of any of these items are also welcomed.

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, 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. Although more than a quarter century has passed since the earthquake, this depressive reality still remains. Currently, more than 2,300 dilapidated domiks are still scattered throughout Gyumri, about 500 of which are vacant. Many families who received homes through government aid did not demolish their old domiks.

Through our Purchase a Home project we have been working hard to find families new homes and demolish their old domiks in order to free Gyumri from these unsafe, unsanitary and depressing reminders of their difficult history. Recently, we have also teamed up with one of our partner organizations from Armenia, Shirak Centre NGO, to find sponsorship for this new and equally important project. Through this project we will work with Shirak Centre NGO to locate and identify the vacant domiks in Gyumri, purchase the domiks from their owners, demolish them and distribute the remaining scraps of wood to other families in need who are still living in domiks and condemned buildings. All remaining materials will be sold for scrap and those funds will be applied towards removing yet another domik. $1,000 is needed in order to complete this process per domik.

Our goal is to take as many domiks off of the market as possible. Demolishing these domiks has several benefits including raising the communities morale, returning land to its former use and providing firewood for fuel to impoverished families. Furthermore, this project has a significant environmental benefits; by using the scraps of wood from the domiks, less and less trees from nearby forests will need to be cut in order to serve this vital need.

The Talin School is located in the Aragatsotn Region and provides music classes to more than 110 children annually. The School employs 15 teachers and provides classes in piano, duduk, kanon, violin, vocal and music theory. The School receives support from the local government for administrative expenses and the students pay a modest monthly fee to attend classes. This support and fees are not enough, however, to enable the school to replace one of its baby grand pianos.

Azerbaijan has once again targeted the civilian population in villages along the Armenian border. Many homes in Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur, Aygepar and Chinari received varying degrees of damage. Our goal is to quickly deploy our work crews in the area to not only repair the damage but make improvements to these families’ homes.

On July 12, during the midst of the global pandemic surrounding Covid-19, Azerbaijan renewed its attack on Armenia in violation of the ceasefire agreement. Over the next two days, Azerbaijan launched artillery of various calibers at the Armenian civilian populations of several communities within Berd Consolidated Communities of Armenia’s Tavush Region. Families in these villages have experienced material losses on their homes and property. Thankfully, villagers remain safe and there has been no civilian loss of life during this period. While the Armenian government has already visited many to assist, The Paros Foundation’s Emergency Reconstruction Fund will work to not only make repairs to these damaged homes but, will make substantial improvements for them.

The best way for our compatriots to know the diaspora stands with them during this tense time is for us to not slow our work in this area, but to accelerate it by supporting these improvements within their communities.

As of July 15, 2020, four Armenian soldiers were killed during the fighting and several have been wounded including one in critical condition. The Armenian army has shot down 10 Azeri combat drones, including a Elbit Hermes 900 UAV with an estimated $30 million price tag. Moreover, two strategic Azeri military posts are now under Armenian control.

While the military losses on the Azeri side are reported to be substantial including the death of an Azeri general, Baku was the site of large protests by thousands of Azeris last night calling for war with Armenia.

Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur (NKA) is a village with 1,380 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. The kindergarten currently can serve only 25 village children due to its physical condition and the fact that part of the building and playground is exposed to Azerbaijan. The kindergarten is housed in a building that also contains the newly renovated village medical center (a completed Paros 100 for 100 Project) and the village administrative office.

The kindergarten consists of two floors and totals approximately 4,600 square feet. The first floor is the kitchen, bathroom and playroom. The second floor is currently not in use because of its condition and the fact that four windows face Azerbaijan and are within sniper range. As recent as May of 2013 this building was hit with sniper fire. Four windows on the second floor would be blocked shut. The second floor would ultimately house the kindergarten’s storage room, principle’s office, a room to allow the children to nap during the day, and a classroom. The kindergarten needs a new roof over its portion of the building, new windows and doors and a heating system. Its current bathroom and staircase needs to be redone. The facility would also be completely painted and have new flooring and carpet installed. The floor support structure beneath the first floor also needs to be repaired to support the existing flooring, as there are some minor structural issues that must be corrected.

Any partial funds received for this project will be first used to replace the damaged roof. Then funds will be allocated to replace the windows and secure the building and playground from exposure to Azeri sniper fire and ultimately complete the needed interior renovations. The Paros Foundation team will work with the village administration to ensure that they support the project in as many ways as possible including donated materials, free labor and/or support services.
It is anticipated that the repairs to the kindergarten will take approximately three months depending on weather conditions.

The villages of Vahagnadzor and Vahagni are approximately three miles away from one another in the Lori Region (north of the city of Vanadzor.) Neither village had an operating kindergarten for its children, until the mayor of Vahagnadzor and a team of dedicated staff and villagers reopened the village kindergarten. These villages are located along the north – south railway line. Immediately to the south of Vahagnadzor is a rail switching station. Several people from the village of Vahagni work at the station and pass through Vahagnadzor daily solving any potential transportation issues. It is estimated that approximately 10 of the potential students will come from the village of Vahagni if the school can continue operations.

A kindergarten building owned by the village of Vahagnadzor exists and is in good condition. Partial funding is needed to continue operating the kindergarten for a minimum of two years. The Kindergarten operates year-round. The annual budget of $10,000 includes one full time and four part time salaries, food and materials for the children and utilities for the building. The village budget supports the kindergarten’s operation and local villagers and other donors have pledged annually to support the kindergarten. Additional fees in support of this important project are collected as tuition fees from approximately 50% of the students that will be attending the kindergarten and whose families can afford to pay a modest monthly fee of approximately $8. It is also possible that once operational, additional funding for this kindergarten will be allocated from the Vahagni village budget. The amount needed to fund this kindergarten’s shortfall budget is $4,000 total ($2,000 for year one and $2,000 for year two).

All donors will be recognized in all press materials related to this kindergarten project and on the Paros Foundation Website. Visits to the kindergarten will be arranged for donors visiting Armenia.