For Immediate Release ~ February 9, 2010
Contact: Sarkis Kotanjian ~ 818-243-6222
Yerevan, Armenia – Within the framework of its ongoing Rural Development Program, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund recently began construction of a vitally needed community center in Aknaghbyur, a village in Armenia’s Tavush Region. The project is sponsored by the fund’s French affiliate, through the financial support of the France-based Tavitian family. Aknaghbyur is the site of several development initiatives already implemented by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. They include the community’s state-of-the-art natural-gas, potable-water, and irrigation networks, all of which have vastly improved the daily lives of residents.
To date construction crews have laid the community center’s foundations, erected the pillars, and built the supporting walls. Work will resume following a short pause due to the harsh winter weather.
Ararat Khlghatyan, Hayastan All-Armenian fund deputy director in charge of construction projects, said that the two-story building of the community center will house the mayor’s office, a clinic, a library, and a concert hall, thus becoming a vibrant hub for local governance, healthcare, culture, and the arts.
“The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund projects carried out in Aknaghbyur are not only helping raise the community’s quality of life, but have inspired a renewed and very palpable sense of belonging among our residents,” said Aknaghbyur mayor Karen Dolmazyan. “Already in the past few months we have seen an increase in the number of births,” the mayor continued. “Moreover, four families have moved back to the village during that period. It is so wonderful that, after so many years of hardship, the residents of Aknaghbyur once again believe in the future of their community.”
