For Immediate Release ~ July 13, 2010
Contact: Sarkis Kotanjian ~ 818-243-6222
Yerevan, Armenia –In June the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund launched a kindergarten-construction project in Ghuze Chartar, a village in Artsakh’s Martuni Region. The initiative, co-sponsored by the fund’s French affiliate and the government of Artsakh, is made possible through the financial support of Jean-Michel Grunberg, chairman of French toy manufacturer Ludendo Group, and Michel Pazoumian, chairman of the French companies Berenice and Eurelia. The contributions were made in memory of Emmanuel de Labarre, a fund benefactor who during the last years of his life was a key supporter of development projects in Artsakh.
Until the completion of Ghuze Chartar’s new kindergarten, the community’s children will continue to go to the old school building, which was built in the 1930s.
Currently construction crews are laying the foundations of the new kindergarten. The two-storey building, with a capacity to accommodate 80 students, will feature a complement of modern amenities, including spacious classrooms and various activity rooms, a kitchen, a medical clinic, and a laundry room. Air-conditioned, centrally heated and compliant with stringent fire-safety standards, the kindergarten will also feature a sizeable playground.
“Whether living in large cities or far-flung villages, our children deserve to have a wonderful childhood, including a safe and pleasant learning environment,” says Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund.
“The residents of Ghuze Chartar, and young families in particular, have long awaited the new kindergarten,” its principal Hasmik Harutyunyan says. “For parents in the village, who already have quite a bit on their plates in terms of daily problems and concerns, it’s very important to know that their children are not only entrusted to good hands, but nurtured in a safe, well-equipped campus.”
The Ghuze Chartar kindergarten project is among a great many school renovation and furnishing initiatives sponsored by the French affiliate of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. The affiliate has systematically focused on such projects since 2004. In 2009 alone, 103 schools in Armenia and Artsakh received new furniture through the sponsorship of the French-Armenian community, resulting in comfortable, well-appointed classrooms for more than 10,000 students. To date, 26,000 schoolchildren in Armenia and Artsakh have been provided with new classroom furniture through the support of the French-Armenian community as well as the government of France.
