Armenia/Artsakh
Seventy percent of the sponsored orphans by the ARS-WUSA resided in the following towns in decreasing order: Hadroud (the most); Askaran; Mardouni; Martakert; Stepanakert; Shoushi; and Yerevan. Initially, the sponsorship for the Sponsor-A-Child program was $120 per year. The ARS 68th International Convention, held in Montreal, Canada, raised the sponsorship to $200, to account for the cost of living increase in Armenia and Artsakh.
The region has participates in a program called “September is Coming” (“Kalis eh Sebdempereh”) to provide winter clothing and school supplies to needy elementary students. ARS-WUSA chapters and individual donors from the region have funded renovation projects at special needs and speech disorder boarding schools, a puppet theater, and a youth camp. Individual donors from our region have funded the dentistry wing at the ARS Mother and Child Clinic and Birthing Center in Akhourian. In addition, supporters have provided funding to the new buildings at the clinic, which house the laboratory section. Supporters have funded and continue to fund new births at the center at $150 per newborn. “ARS Day” programs brighten the orphaned or abandoned children being housed at shelters or boarding schools by serving special meals. During the ARS Centennial commemorative trip to Armenia (2010), a reenactment of the “Benag meh geragour” (A bowl of soup) took place as chapter and individual sponsors provided funding for special meals at a dozen of special needs schools.
Historical Notes
The ARS first went into Armenia in 1919, where the fledging first Republic existed since 1918. After Armenia became part of the Soviet Union, the ARS had to suspend its activities in the homeland, including Artsakh.
Sponsor-A-Child Sponsorship Program
In 1991, the ARS entity was formed in what became the second Republic of Armenia. At the same time, the ARS Central Executive Board staffed offices in Armenia and Artsakh. That provided ARS administrative infrastructure, and chapters and volunteers to administer different programs in Armenia and Artsakh, which the ARS of Western U.S.A. supported. During the same year as the earthquake in Armenia, 1988, another massive humanitarian need rose with the Artsakh (Karabagh) liberation efforts. Following the massacre of Armenians in Sumgait (Ajerbaijan) and the mass deportation of Armenians from Baku, mostly men from Armenia and Artsakh volunteered to free Artsakh, and lost their lives.The ARS Sponsor-A-Child program was initiated to help the orphans of the earthquake and those who died defending freedom for their compatriots. The ARS-WUSA supported the orphans until they turned 18. Although the number of orphans supported was 7,500, gradually, the number of the orphans continued to decline. By 2003, the number of supported orphans had declined to 1,200. By 2007, the number was 550, and the number of orphans continued to decline 100-120 per year. By 2012, the number was 63 and will decrease to under 20 the following year. Seventy percent of the sponsored orphans by the ARS-WUSA resided in the following towns in decreasing order: Hadroud (the most); Askaran; Mardouni; Martakert; Stepanakert; Shoushi; and Yerevan. Initially, the sponsorship for the Sponsor-A-Child program was $120 per year. The ARS 68th International Convention, held in Montreal, Canada, raised the sponsorship to $200, to account for the cost of living increase in Armenia and Artsakh.
Orphans Education Program For College Education
As orphans aided by the ARS “Sponsor-A-Child” program have grown and reached an age when they must prepare for their future and enter Armenia’s workforce as productive citizens. The ARS 68th International Convention, which convened in Montreal, Canada, established the ARS Orphans Education Program to help cover the educational expenses of the orphans who received assistance under the ARS “Sponsor-A-Child” program. The ARS Orphans Education Program relies on “Sponsor-A-Child” sponsors and new sponsors to support the college education of orphans by allocating $320 a year. Initially, the ARS-WUSA supported the program by providing general funding. The first batch of 52 orphans, who were supported through this program as individually sponsored by the region was in 2008. The ARS of Western U.S.A. supported ARS Orphans Education Program students are studying a range of subjects including: Accounting, Commercial Art, Communication, Computer Science, Dental Technology, Economics, Education, Engineering, Finance, Foreign Languages, Geography, History, Law, Literature, Management Science, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Psychology, Sports and Voice.By supporting the Orphans Education Program, individual and organizational sponsors help reduce the orphans’ hardship and help them succeed in life.
Other Projects In Artsakh
The region has participates in a program called “September is Coming” (“Kalis eh Sebdempereh”) to provide winter clothing and school supplies to needy elementary students. ARS-WUSA chapters and individual donors from the region have funded renovation projects at special needs and speech disorder boarding schools, a puppet theater, and a youth camp. “ARS Day” programs brighten the orphaned or abandoned children being housed at shelters or boarding schools by serving special meals. During the ARS Centennial commemorative trip to Armenia (2010), a reenactment of the “Benag meh geragour” (A bowl of soup) took place as chapter and individual sponsors provided funding for special meals at a dozen of special needs schools in Armenia and Artsakh.
