Due to the coronavirus pandemic, schools around the world have been closing and classes have been moving online. For Varanda, a small Armenian village in the Republic of Artsakh on the Azeri border, this is not an option. The village has limited internet access and lacks the appropriate technology to enable online learning. The village school has resorted to holding classes outside, exposed to the elements, to try to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Varanda School has only two dozen students. Its small size has made instructional modernization challenging. Providing schools like these with the proper technology will not only significantly lower the risk of the virus spreading today, but also connect them to the online learning infrastructure for the future.

Support of this project will help obtain 33 tablets for the Varanda School, enough for 20 students, 9 teachers and four extra, should any break. Training on how to properly use the tablets will be provided by the Ohanyan School in Yerevan, Armenia free of charge. The students and their teachers then will be able to connect with online classes at Ohanyan School and an expanding network of other schools, which will be conducting online classes this coming Fall.

Once enough funding is raised to equip the Varanda School with their tablets, this project will expand to include aid to five more projected border villages, which also lack the needed technology to support online learning. All six schools will eventually join remote classes courtesy of the Ohanyan School in Yerevan.

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.

Sponsorship of this project will help raise the necessary funds needed to obtain basic medical equipment, supplies and medicine. In-kind donations of any of these items are also welcomed. Furthermore, we specifically need physicians, nurses, pharmacists and more to help our volunteers conduct physical exams and provide basic medical care.

Nor Geghi is a village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia, located around 22 km north of the capital Yerevan, near the town of Nor Hachen. The village has a population of about 5,000 residents.

Beginning in 2015, several portions of the Nor Geghi kindergarten has been renovated including two restrooms, a large multipurpose room and an additional classroom and sleeping space for a second group of children.  Much of this work was completed through the efforts of The Paros Foundation with the support of the Nor Keghi Association of Detroit, MI and those families who descended from the historic village of Keghi.

The village once again has a need to expand the kindergarten’s capacity by adding an addition 30 children.  A large space on the second floor has been identified that will accommodate this new group of children. The scope of work will include the proper configuring of the space to accommodate a new classroom, playroom, kitchenette and bathroom.  In addition, the kindergarten needs to have its kitchen renovated and its entrance reconfigured.  This will work include the installation of new flooring, new electrical, new plumbing and the completion of the heating system.  The village administration is ready to assist with labor, furniture and other resources to help realize this important project.

Achajur is a large village with more than 4,500 residents located in Armenia’s Tavush Region. Achajur located very close to the Kayan border crossing with Azerbaijan. The village’s kindergarten currently functions with 100 children attending on the first floor of a two story building. Because of the large population in the village, an additional 100 children are on the waiting list to attend kindergarten, but cannot due to the poor condition of the upstairs of the existing kindergarten. Once renovated, the municipality is prepared to expand the staff and accept at least two additional groups of children into the kindergarten. The renovation of the kindergarten will include the installation of new windows, subflooring, flooring, electrical, plumbing, new bathrooms, heating system and new furniture.

Help us meet our match! We have received challenge grants from two anonymous donors, who are matching donations up to $50,000 combined, which will allow us to donate $100,000 to ArmeniaFund in support of Artsakh with your help!

The Azeri attack on civilian targets throughout Artsakh and parts of Armenia have created a humanitarian crisis. Turkey’s involvement, and that of confirmed jihadist fighters threatens the Armenian nation’s existence. The time is now to support Armenia and Artsakh’s humanitarian needs by joining the worldwide effort to support Armenia Fund. Donate now and donate generously to help our brothers and sisters in this time of need.

All donations made through this link will be matched up to $50,000 regardless of the amount.

or mail checks to the following address with a note saying “challenge grant”:

The Paros Foundation
2217 5th Street
Berkeley, CA 94710

Funds from this challenge grant will be donated to support Armenia Fund in their entirety. For more information about this effort, please contact (310) 400-9061 or email: info@parosfoundation.org.

Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur (NKA) is a village with about 1,100 residents in the Berd 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 Paros Foundation completely renovated this building in 2014 as part of our Paros 100 for 100 Projects for Prosperity campaign. At the time, the kindergarten had fewer than 20 children in attendance. Thanks to a doubling of the birthrate of children in the village starting in 2013, the number of children in the village continues to increase with each passing year, and now the kindergarten is too small to accommodate the 45 children currently in attendance. To rectify this good problem, the first floor kitchen will be expanded into the former mayor’s office space, creating a new kitchen, store room and dining hall. The old dining hall will be configured into two larger bathrooms and a laundry room. Finally, an additional bathroom will be added upstairs in the former storage room along with a nurses station and an additional office. Finally, the heating system will be improved to include the expanded kindergarten space. It is anticipated that this work will be completed in four months.

The Ghoghanj Children’s Center located in the Kentron of Yerevan provides afterschool and summer school programs for approximately 60 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.

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 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. We have identified Karen Bdoyan, his wife, two sons and mother as a family that would benefit from a new home. Karen was seriously injured in a work accident in Russia last year. Their current domik is located immediately under high voltage power lines. In addition, part of the floor has already collapsed, making it even less safe. Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be destroyed to prevent its future occupancy.

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 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.

Karen Khachatryan, his wife, two sons and mother have been identified as a family that would dramatically benefit from a new apartment.  Karen currently works at a carwash in Gyumri to try and support his family. Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be destroyed to prevent its future occupancy.

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 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. The recipient of a new home raised through this project will be Zaruhi Minasyan and her two boys, 10 & 14 years old. 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.