Armenia Fund is pleased to announce that construction continues on several components of the Hadrut Regional Development Plan. The program calls for the revitalization of healthcare facilities, schools, water pipelines for drinking and irrigation purposes, as well as agricultural development. Thanks to Armenia Fund’s Telethon 2006, funding was secured for the projects.
The construction of the critically important water pipelines is well underway. A 21.8km pipeline from the Archi Spring will deliver drinking water to the residents of the city of Hadrut. The plan also envisions the reconstruction of the city wells, as well as the distribution reservoir. The Ishkhaneget River water will be filtered and treated to ensure it meets health and safety standards. The water from the river will be delivered to Mets Taghlar, Azokh, and Drakhtik villages through a specialized gravity flow system. Thanks to this system, more than 2700 residents in the aforementioned communities will enjoy a constant, reliable supply of water.
A new village school will be constructed in the Hakaku Village through funding provided by Armenia Fund U.S. Western Region. AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School of Canoga Park, California led a major fundraising effort for the Hakaku School in the months preceding the Telethon resulting in a record breaking $115,000 . The old school in Hakaku will be demolished. However, its present site will not be used because the ground soil has been determined to be unsafe due to landslides common in the area. Armenia Fund hired a group of experts, who in cooperation with local government agencies conducted a meticulous soil survey in the village. The group has already determined the safest, reliable location for the Hakaku Village School. Construction will begin this month and the new school will be completed before classes begin in September.
3 New Schools for Martakert Region, Nagorno Karabakh
Armenia Fund recently completed 2 school projects in Martakert. The Madaghis Village School was recently completed, as well as the renovation of a kindergarten in Haterk. By September 2007, the construction of Kochoghot and Verin Horatagh Village Schools will be completed as well.
Prior to the completion of the Madaghis School, students from the village used to attend classes in rusty mobile homes. Thanks to funding provided by Armenia Fund’s Toronto, Canada affiliate, the three floor modern school with adjacent restroom facilities and a boiler house was constructed. The $264,000 school will accommodate 120 students.
A similar three-floor building will open its doors for the schoolchildren of Kochoghot this coming September. Currently a run-down building with no heating systems serves the village as a school. With generous funding from the Fund’s French affiliate ‘s Fonds Armenien de France – the first two floors and the basement of the school building were completed. The French affiliate will furnish the school upon its completion. Furnishing will be provided in partnership with the government of the City of St. Etienne (France).
The construction of the school building in Verin Horatagh is also being funded by the Canadian affiliate of the Fund. The new, three-floor building will soon replace the decaying village school built in the 1930s. Ever since there has not been any form of standardized maintenance.
Nork-Marash Hospital Stage II Underway
On May 7, 2007, the second stage reconstruction of the Nork-Marash Infectious Diseases Hospital in Yerevan started. By the end of 2007, the second and third floors of the hospital, as well as the roof will be completely renovated. The boiler house and heating system for those units will also be completed as part of the reconstruction plan. These presently dilapidated units, along with its medical laboratory, serve up to 3000 patients a year. The project is generously sponsored by the Fund’s Brazilian affiliate ‘s Fundo Armenia do Brasil.
Since 2004, Armenia Fund has been reconstructing the Nork-Marash Hospital. In 2006, the first stage was successfully completed ‘s a gleaming, modern first floor that is capable of catering to thousands of patients per year. In March 2007, through a special partnership with Armenia Fund, the United Nations Development Programme and the Embassy of Brazil in Yerevan funded the hospital’s heating system through the construction of a modern boiler house.
Dr. Ara Asoyan, Chief Specialist and Director of the Hospital, stated, “Thanks to Armenia Fund’s ongoing support, the hospital stands to provide constant, compliant healthcare to patients. This is extremely critical as this is the largest hospital in the Republic that specializes in infectious diseases. More than 5,000 patients visit us on a yearly basis”.