The Paros Foundation established the Debi Arach Children’s Center in Gyumri, Armenia on April 15, 2015. The center, which provides 120 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.

The center hopes to expand Debi Arach with the establishment of a vocational center to provide young adults with a set of skills and tools they will need to secure gainful employment and help break their family’s cycle of poverty. Currently, at Debi Arach children expressing an interest at attending college receive free tutoring to help them gain admission. Those who do not plan to continue their formal education will be enrolled in several vocational training programs offered at no charge. In addition, young adult who do not currently attend the Debi Arach Children’s Center will also be invited to enroll and participate in the programs. Training classes such as computer programing, hardware repair, welding, culinary and cosmetology – – all of which are in demand in the Gyumri job market – – will be offered.

The center will operate Monday- Saturday and classes will be offered on a rotating basis. 50 young adults will be enrolled per year and attend the training class of their choice. Once the training courses are completed, the Debi Arach staff will work with the students on job placement. Sponsorship towards this project will help complete modest renovations, employ qualified staff and run the vocational center for one year. 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.

Hatsik is a village in the Armavir Province of Armenia. This village of 2,558 people currently houses one school with 285 students in attendance. The Hatsik Village School, which was the site for renovations completed by the Paros Foundation’s SERVICE Armenia 2013 and 2014 groups, is in need of a complete gym makeover. The gym at the Hatsik Village School not only serves as the main sporting area for the entire school, but a meeting place for the entire village. The gym is home to several village meetings and events, and sporting functions for all children and adults from the entire village. Thanks to the generosity of past and present donors, The Paros Foundation renovated ten classrooms, three restrooms and the hallways housing the elementary school wing during the SERVICE Armenia 2013 and 2014 trips and plans to renovate more classrooms during the SERVICE Armenia 2015 trip. The regional government has allocated funding to complete the school’s heating system. In addition, the Hatsik Village Municipality is committed to help raise funds within their network of donors to help with the restoration of the school’s kitchen.

Sponsorship of this project will help raise the amount needed in order to complete renovations at the Hatsik School gym including, new doors, windows and window netting, new lighting, repairs to the walls ceiling and paint, and boys and girls locker rooms. Our previous renovations at the Hatsik School are well maintained, thus giving us great motivation to continue our work at this site. The Paros Foundation is committed to completing renovations and dramatically improving the overall condition for the children at this school.

Armenian Mothers NGO, a charitable organization founded in 2012, supports children with cerebral palsy (CP) and their mothers. The organization’s major aim is to improve the quality of life for these children, integrate them into society, as well as provide psychological and informational support to their mothers. Through their hard work they hope to raise public awareness about this issue, and to promote the development and improvement of services within this field.

Recently, Armenian Mothers NGO has been working towards creating an art therapy room where these children can receive different forms of innovative and effective art therapy free of charge. They have already succeeded in obtaining funding and have completed the renovation of a one-room center. Furthermore, they also have a willing staff of professionals to carry out lessons. Sponsorship of this project will help the NGO complete the art therapy room with furniture including three high chairs, two special tables for sand therapy, one standard table, and four chairs.

We would like to provide soccer balls to the children who are living in the outermost villages of Armenia. These are truly the poorest areas of the country and where the most “in need” people are living. Our goal is to deliver 500 soccer balls. We are hopeful that you can help us in some small way reach this goal by providing us with soccer balls or a small monetary donation. Thank you for considering our special request. We are so proud to have the opportunity to make this small difference in our world. Please consider helping us reach our goal.

Franklin Chelebian     Peter Chelebian

Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur 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. The economy of the village and the livelihood of many of its residents has suffered due to these difficult and dangerous times. 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. With the help of Jean-Marie and Lori Atamian of New York, The Paros Foundation has already renovated their medical center and kindergarten successfully. These projects have had a huge impact on the community. 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.

Samvel G. 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 Samvel, who is a contract soldier, his wife and their three children who are all under the age of 11. They live in a 1,076 sq. ft. apartment, which is in need of renovations that they will complete with the help of a small loan from Armenia’s leading mobile operator, Vivacell. They also have a newly constructed pigsty and a 377 sq. ft. barn (which is in need of renovations). Samvel will complete the barn renovations by his own means once we have provided the materials. They have also requested a few pigs, two sows and a few sheep.  As a part of this effort Samvel 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 in Armenia, border villages, such as those in the Tavush region of Armenia, are plagued with economic hardships and unemployment. These villagers have very few options for employment (agriculture, teaching and few municipal positions) and do not have the means to seek training for new professions. For this reason, many of the residents (mainly men) flee to Russia to find employment and stable income. This leaves many women alone in their communities, without a profession and dependent on their husbands/fathers/brothers to send them money from abroad.

This project aims to provide a viable employment solution to women from eight border villages in the Tavush region. Women from the villages of Berdavan, Koghb, Dovegh, Djudjevan, Barekamavan, Koti, Voskevan and Baghanis will have the opportunity to participate in an intensive three month training in the areas of hair-dressing and cosmetology. Sponsorship of this project will allow 10 women total (at least one from each village) to participate in the three-month training program. Trainings will be held Monday through Friday for two hours a day. Students will be trained at a local salon that is approximately equal distance from all villages. Tools and supplies will be provided along with some basic business management and marketing classes, and transportations stipends. After completion of the training, participants will receive the necessary equipment they need to work from their home or a salon. They will be encouraged to work from their home villages and provide services that many other villagers may go elsewhere for. These women will greatly benefit from the opportunity to participate in these occupational training courses, which would result in jobs, financial stability for their families and better the economy of their communities. In addition, their success will help empower them through a new sense of independence.

Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur 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. The economy of the village and the livelihood of many of its residents has suffered due to these difficult and dangerous times. 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. With the help of Jean-Marie and Lori Atamian of New York, The Paros Foundation has already renovated their medical center and kindergarten successfully. These projects have had a huge impact on the community. 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.

Razmik P. 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 Razmik, who is a contract soldier, his wife and their three children who are all under the age of 14. Their barn (measuring 250 sq. ft.) is in need of roof repairs. Razmik will complete the repairs himself once we have provided the materials. They have also requested a cow and five sheep. As a part of this effort Razmik 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 touchstone of the project is that it is a collaborative effort between the community of Taron IV, volunteers, NGO’s, public agencies and entrepreneurial businesses, our national and international friends and supporters. The 6077 sq. meter parcel of vacant land is located on a corner lot bordered by streets, and across the street are 2 secondary schools and a school for disadvantaged children. A bus stop for public transportation is located across the street which could be enhanced with a shelter covering and coordinate into the park design. A concrete wall separating the cemetery from the park is a design opportunity with many variations to consider: A wall of trees or a “green wall” would be a natural barrier. Some of the wall sections could be painted with designs from artists or children in the community. It would also make a pleasant backdrop for the amphitheater where small music concerts or peaceful rallies could be held. The land slopes naturally towards the south and there is a beautiful vista of the mountains in the background where we plan to provide benches for people to enjoy this view. We will be planting trees with the help of the community. These groves of trees will provide shade and shelter during the hot summer months. Shelters would provide a place for nardi and chess games. Walking paths would wind around the park and provide a space to stroll or for rigorous exercise. Good lighting and garbage receptacles would be placed around the park which would help keep the park clean, secure and safe. An open air café would be a comfortable place for having a cup of coffee or glass of juice and would bring in money to sustain maintenance work of the park. The project goals are:

• To provide a safe, environmentally sensitive park, accessible to people of all ages, throughout the seasons: to encourage and support creative and environmental educational opportunities, recreational activities, to promote healthy lifestyles.
• To provide the citizens of Taron IV with the skills and expertise needed to provide the park with benches, garbage containers and outdoor seating structures. Skills transfer opportunity.
• To promote volunteerism, team work and willingness for the community to look for ways to solve their own problems which encourages civic minded thinking.
• To provide a human rights park to show how local communities and citizen groups can have a voice in how the public space in their community is used, which is a fundamental human right In a Democratic Society.
  The collaborative park project will show ways that the community can become involved with the design and building of their community park which promotes a sense of ownership and responsibility, pride and caretaking for the park. It would also provide the community with a skill transfer component which would train the citizens for future work or potential business opportunities.

The Talin Music School is located in the Aragatsotn Region of Armenia. Talin is considered one of the oldest residential areas of the region and has a population of about 5,400 people. The school is housed in space provided by the town. The Talin Music School provides music classes to more than 110 children annually and employs 15 teachers. Among the lessons provided are 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. The support from the local government and the fees paid by students are not enough to allow the school to replace needed musical instruments.