Hayastan Fund constructs orphanage in Shushi

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, ARMENPRESS: Hayastan Fund has started construction of Shushi orphanage after the winter break. Armenpress reports, citing the press service of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund that the orphanage will feature spacious, comfortable living quarters and the full complement of amenities including a canteen, an events hall, and central heating and air-conditioning. The building will also have several leisure and sports premises, comprising playrooms, a gymnasium, and a playground. In addition, the building will feature a computer room and a library, which, complemented by a host of educational and arts programs, are designed to foster the intellectual and creative skills of the children, and ultimately help them become independent, self-actualized individuals.

The future institution will provide a full range of living, leisure, and educational amenities for children of preschool and school age including bedrooms, playrooms, a canteen, a library with computers, and an events hall. To be equipped with central heating and air-conditioning, the facility will ensure comfort for its young residents at all seasons. The orphanage will also feature a playground.

Currently there are close to 100 parentless children between the ages of 1 and 15 living in the republic. While 50 of them are housed at the Stepanakert Children’s Home, the rest live with relatives.

The Armenian-American industrialist and benefactor Hirair Hovnanian, an Honorary Member and major supporter of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has had an invaluable role in the realization of the fund’s diverse development initiatives in the past 20 years. He has donated 15 million US dollars to the Fund’s projects.

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund was founded by Presidential Decree in 1992. It is a unique institution whose mission is to unite Armenians in Armenia and overseas to overcome the country’s difficulties and to help establish sustainable development in Armenia and Artsakh. In addition to those problems associated with the break-up of the Soviet Union, the government had to find solutions to the aftermath of the 1988 Spitak earthquake, an economic blockade and the rehabilitation of areas that had suffered from the Artsakh conflict.

Under the Fund’s charter, the Armenian president is the President of its Board of Trustees. The Board comprises the Catholicos of All-Armenians, the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, the Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church, the President of Nagorno Karabakh, the prime ministers of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, the chairman of the Armenia’s Constitutional Court and the Central Bank, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the heads of the three main Armenian political parties and of major benevolent institutions such as the AGBU, ARF, the Armenian Congress of America and other outstanding benefactors and public figures from Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora.

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund implements its projects through a global network of 25 affiliates, which operate in the United States (Los Angeles and New York), Canada (Toronto and Montreal), France, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, Brazil, Lebanon, Argentina (Buenos Aires and Cordoba), Greece, Cyprus, Syria, Uruguay, Romania, Russia, Iran, Italy and Kuwait. The mentioned last 10 affiliates have been opened in 2009-2012 years.

The funds’ financial resources are obtained through a variety of fundraising activities including annual telethons, phoneathons, radiothons, benefit bike rides, gala dinners, concerts, and exhibitions, donations made at post offices in Armenia or through SMS, as well as contributions to donor-defined projects and wills.

During the years of its activity, Hayastan Fund has gained widespread respect and recognition for successfully meeting the needs and aspirations of the time. Always a great support to Armenia, the Fund is committed to its mission of successfully and steadily developing the young country.