Hayastan All-Armenian Fund continues to make headway in the construction of a drinking-water network in Sos, a village in Artsakh’s Martuni Region, as well as the refurbishment of the community’s broken water reservoir. The project, launched in October 2009, is co-sponsored by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s French affiliate and the government of Artsakh.
“The well being of the Artsakh population is at the center of our humanitarian action, with special emphasis on children-related and water supply projects,” comments Pierre Terzian, chairman of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund French affiliate.
Already the construction of the 7.6-kilometer internal water-distribution network is complete. The next and final phase of the project, slated to start in February 2010, will comprise the renovation of the main water reservoir and construction of the smaller distribution reservoirs.
“Unfortunately numerous rural communities throughout Artsakh and Armenia still lack reliable access to water,” said Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. “We are extremely gratified that, with the project in Sos, yet another community will have resolved its water crisis.”
Igor Ghahramyan, mayor of Sos, said that the residents of the ancient village obtain much of their water supply from a single local well, which is in grave disrepair and whose water is not safe for drinking. “Water is the most vital element connecting villagers to the land, and only after solving the water problem can they begin to address other issues facing the community,” Ghahramyan added.
The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund continues to carry out a number of vital development projects in the Martuni Region. In 2009 it completed water-network projects in the villages of Berdashen and Spitakashen. Currently the fund is implementing school-building initiatives in the communities of Gishi and Chartar, and in the summer of 2009 it completed the construction of a new school in Spitakashen.
Hayastan All Armenian Fund was founded by a Presidential Decree in March 1992. in a turbulent and testing time for our newly independent homeland. From the ground zero of the earthquake in Armenia to the war torn villages and towns of Artsakh, the Fund has always been where the help was needed most. The times change and so do the challenges facing the now steadily developing Armenia and Artsakh. New challenges require new solutions and Hayastan All Armenian Fund has continuously displayed the ability to successfully adapt and adjust to this ever changing environment bringing innovative solutions to complex issues. These strategically important issues are defined by the Board of Trustees – the supreme governing body of the Fund. Under the Fund’s charter, the President of the Republic of Armenia is ex officio the President of the Board of Trustees. Since 1996, the Fund holds annual Telethons. In the years since the first Telethon, this event has gone far beyond the boundaries of a simple fundraiser. Today, via the modern means of communication Telethon is a medium that succeeds in bringing together Armenians from all over the world around one goal.
