Winters in Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city, are extreme. Unemployment and poverty is rampant. Following the devastating 1988 Spitak Earthquake, in which more than 25,000 people lost their lives and more than 100,000 people were left homeless, Gyumri’s residents did whatever they could to find temporary shelter. This included moving into the overseas shipping containers in which earthquake related humanitarian goods were shipped to Armenia. 24 years following the earthquake, more than 3,000 poverty stricken families remain in various forms of temporary housing.

The harsh winters and extreme poverty lead to these people picking through trash to find something that they can burn to keep warm and cook food for their families. Children do not have the proper clothing and boots to stay healthy and attend school.

This effort will ensure that 60 families living in deplorable conditions receive heating and cooking fuel and warm clothing for their children.

Gyumri is Armenia’s second largest city. Following the devastating 1988 Spitak Earthquake, in which more than 25,000 people lost their lives and more than 100,000 people were left homeless, Gyumri’s residents did whatever they could to find temporary shelter. This included moving into “domiks,” the overseas shipping containers in which earthquake related humanitarian goods were shipped to Armenia. 25 years following the earthquake, almost 4,000 poverty stricken families remain continue to live in unsafe and dilapidated buildings and the rusted remains of overseas shipping containers. In addition to inadequate housing, unemployment and rampant poverty, Gyumri’s people are faced with extreme winters.
The harsh winters and extreme poverty lead to people picking through trash to find something that they can burn to keep warm and cook food for their families. Due to the intense cold weather and toxic fumes, children often get sick and are unable to attend school.

This effort will ensure that 90 families in Gyumri will receive fuel for heating and cooking through firewood for month’s period. Our partner for this project, Shirak Center NGO, will help distribute the firewood to the families.

Currently home to 286 households and 955 people, the village of Baghanis was established in the fifth century and is situated in the Tavush region of Armenia. The village is adjacent to the Republic of Azerbaijan, sharing a 2 km-long border. Today, the residents make a living by farming and tending to their livestock. Now, economic development and opportunities for work are essential to continue improving the conditions in this border village. Sponsorship of this project will help provide needy villagers with the opportunity to care for their families and to help improve the village’s economy.

Armen A. and his family have been identified as one of the families who are in need of additional support in order to help their agribusiness grow. Their family consists of five members including three children. They live in a dangerous area as their home is exposed to Azeri sniper fire. Armen works as a contract soldier stationed on the border. They currently do not barn, but have requested materials to built one along with pigs and chickens for their agribusiness. As a part of this effort Armen A. and his family will be provided training and/or business tips for the ensured success of their agribusiness. Frequent visits will be made to the family to track their progress and determine the success of their new venture.

Currently home to 286 households and 955 people, the village of Baghanis was established in the fifth century and is situated in the Tavush region of Armenia. The village is adjacent to the Republic of Azerbaijan, sharing a 2 km-long border. Today, the residents make a living by farming and tending to their livestock. Now, economic development and opportunities for work are essential to continue improving the conditions in this border village. Sponsorship of this project will help provide needy villagers with the opportunity to care for their families and to help improve the village’s economy.

Andranik S. and his family have been identified as one of the families who are in need of additional support in order to help their agribusiness grow. Their family consists of six members including three children. They live in a dangerous area as their home is exposed to Azeri sniper fire. Andranik works as a contract soldier stationed on the border. They currently have a barn, and have requested cows for their agribusiness. As a part of this effort Andranik S. and his family will be provided training and/or business tips for the ensured success of their agribusiness. Frequent visits will be made to the family to track their progress and determine the success of their new venture.

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.

The Taron II community in the city of Vanadzor was built after the devastating 1988 earthquake. Several housing blocks were constructed including a community kindergarten. Currently, the kindergarten is housed in two-section building and in need of minor renovations.

Fortunately the building already has a source of heat and no issues with the roof. Sponsorship of this project will help start renovation work with the kitchen and cafeteria area, as it is the most in need. Our goal is to continue work at this kindergarten once we complete the kitchen and cafeteria renovations.

Representatives of The Paros Foundation have visited more than 100 schools throughout Armenia. While some schools have either been renovated thanks to the Armenian government or as a result of the generosity of international donors, many remain in deplorable conditions and have little hope of being renovated in the near future. These conditions affect both the ability for students to learn, as well as the health of students and teachers. How is a student supposed to learn if there are not proper desks, chairs or windows in the classroom?

One of the schools recently identified in need of a complete renovation is located in the large village of Ljashen in the Gegharkunik region at Lake Sevan. Ljashen Village has a population of 5,000 and one local school. About 300 students attend this run down school.

The Paros Foundation will directly oversee the renovation of a classroom at this school including doors, flooring, lighting, paint, electrical, and furniture as needed. The heating system was replaced 10 years ago by Developmental Services for Armenia, a California based humanitarian organization, and is still fully functioning. Whenever possible, the school, students and their parents will be incorporated into the classroom remodel project to help build a sense of community and personal investment.

Homeland Handicrafts(HH) was founded in order to create jobs- jobs for mostly women – in the regions of Armenia. HH develops market-oriented products that are based on techniques the women know and materials they have. We actively market these items through fairs and shops in Yerevan as well as through export. We still have a lot to do both on the product development and marketing sides in order to reach our goal of creating dozens of jobs for women in the regions of Armenia.

Prototype Fund: As women in villages generally do not have a capital base, it is necessary for HH to purchase the materials need to make the initial prototypes of products. Several prototypes are often necessary to make. The artisan contributes her work to this effort.

Workshop Participation: Product development is a time and work intensive task, and even more so when the artisans in the villages do not have the exposure to the market, not in Yerevan, and not abroad. This requires frequent visits to the villages where the artisans live and work in order to follow up on product concepts- making sure they understand the design and quality requirements, price calculations, labeling, packaging, etc. This means that the volunteers in HH must make frequent trips to each project that we cooperate with. This is very demanding on time and expenses, but is part of the job creation task we have taken up ourselves.

Promotion Fairs: It is important to participate in numerous fairs during the year for several reasons: 1) to sell products, 2) to introduce the artisans to the market, getting feedback on design, price, presentation, etc., 3) identifying potential wholesale customers and contacts for developing more long term business and export relationships.

Marketing Tools: To create jobs, HH must have an active marketing profile. Banners, brochures and flyers are needed to use/distribute at fairs and in other public forums. The www.homelandhandicrafts.org website is another strong marketing tool that will be kept up to date from showcasing the HH effort.

Homeland Handicrafts (HH) travels extensively throughout the regions of Armenia to identify, cultivate and follow up artisans, so that they might make products that can be sold and thus create a sustainable livelihood for them. We keep the expenses down as far as possible by sleeping on couches and eating cheap. Still, we need to buy bus tickets or pay for gas in order to get to these places. This comes out of our private pockets. We would appreciate support to be able to do our voluntary work to create jobs in the regions of Armenia. Funds are needed to underwrite transportation costs to help HH visit and work with these artisans.

Gyumri is Armenia’s second largest city with the poorest population, including single mothers and the elderly. Following the devastating 1988 Spitak Earthquake, in which more than 25,000 people lost their lives and more than 100,000 people were left homeless, Gyumri’s residents did whatever they could to find temporary shelter. This included moving into “domiks,” the overseas shipping containers in which earthquake related humanitarian goods were shipped to Armenia. 24 years following the earthquake, about 4,000 poverty stricken families remain in various forms of temporary housing. In addition to inadequate housing, unemployment and rampant poverty, Gyumri’s people are also faced with extreme winters.
The harsh winters and extreme poverty lead to people picking through trash to find something that they can burn to keep warm and cook food for their families. Due to the intense cold weather and toxic fumes, children often get sick and are unable to attend school.

This effort will ensure that 90 families in Gyumri will receive fuel for heating and cooking through firewood for month’s period. Our partner for this project, Shirak Center NGO, will help distribute the firewood to the families.

Share-a-Pair, a project to get shoes to Armenia’s disadvantaged children needs your help!

Share-a-Pair was launched in Los Angeles by sisters, Kristen and Bridget Abajian. Soon thereafter Sophia Dilsizian joined in by leading the efforts in California’s South Bay community. A modest initial goal of raising enough funds to purchase, ship and distribute 1,000 pairs of shoes to Armenia’s needy children was quickly realized in 2011. Having contacted a major U.S. based shoe manufacturer, Share-a-Pair entered into a partnership to distribute a total of 75,000 pairs of new shoes in Armenia. These shoes were distributed to children in need, children with disabilities and children living in the most economically disadvantaged villages in Armenia. In total, Share-a-Pair has distributed shoes in more than 100 villages and 13 cities in Armenia. Witnessing first hand the difficult conditions in these villages, Share-a-Pair’s team identified the important need for warm winter boots and launched Operation Winter Boots.

Share-a-Pair is able to purchase one quality pair of winter boots for $20. Donations are welcomed in any amount. Donations of new winter boots in all sizes are also appreciated and welcomed. Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions and be sure to visit us on facebook. Thank you!