For Immediate Release
September 10, 2010

SYRIAN AFFILIATE ESTABLISHES COMPUTER ROOM AT YEREVAN HIGH SCHOOL

NEW YORK, New York — Rounding out a month of numerous projects completed specifically in time for the new academic year, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s Syrian affiliate made Yerevan’s No. 56 School’s students and teachers particularly happy to be back in the classroom with the establishment of one in particular: an audiovisual learning facility.

September 10 marked the festive ribbon-cutting ceremony for the computer room, one attended by many dignitaries and guests including Hranush Hakobyan, Armenia’s minister of Diaspora Affairs; Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund; Hrair Muradian, chairman of the Fund’s Syrian affiliate; Gayane Soghomonyan, head of the Yerevan Municipality’s Education Department; Hamlet Margaryan, administrator of Yerevan’s Arabkir district; Grigor Shahnazaryan, deputy administrator of the same district; and several alumni of the school.

The maiden project of the Syrian affiliate launched in April 2009, the donation is worth about $22,000 and comprises 20 latest-model computers, a printer, a scanner, a DVD player, a television set, projectors, computer desks, and chairs.

	The establishment of the new computer room is the maiden project of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s Syrian affiliate

In remarks addressed to faculty and students during the opening ceremony, Syrian-affiliate Chairman Hrair Muradian said, “I bring you warm greetings from Syria. I’m so very impressed by the sight of this beautiful and well-maintained school, and commend you for keeping it in such pristine condition. May this new computer room thoroughly serve its purpose and may you enjoy it in your quest for knowledge.”

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the guests looked on with pride as upper-level students used their new computers to write individual essays on the theme of benevolence.

Although the No. 56 School stands apart among the Armenian capital’s high schools with its up-to-date furnishings, until recently it was seriously lacking in terms of advanced technological learning tools. As soon as the Fund’s Syrian affiliate was informed of this critical need, it took urgent action, quickly making the creation of a computer room on campus a reality. The Fund’s Ara Vardanyan underscored the importance of this endeavor: “I am so happy that students of the No. 56 School will be able to acquire computer literacy, which is an advantage of crucial importance in our time.”

A highly dedicated faculty and academic excellence are hallmarks of the No. 56 School. In addition to its core curriculum, for the past 15 years it has offered free afterschool classes in physics, chemistry, history, French, and needlecraft in addition to physical education programs.

The No. 56 School is also a longtime and proud host of a myriad of cultural events, starting with its own choir that frequently performs in concerts. An emphasis is placed on the student body’s acquisition of a deeper awareness of Armenian history and culture, thus the 14-year-long student and teacher participation in the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s National Giving drive is not incidental. The entire student body and faculty annually joins forces to make monetary contributions to projects carried out by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund in Armenia and Artsakh, eagerly greeting this opportunity to support the cultural preservation achieved by the Fund’s infrastructural development projects.

In her speech during the computer room’s opening ceremony, Principal Mariam Hovhannisyan eloquently expressed a sentiment shared by the entirety of the school’s populace: “The gift we have received is undoubtedly great, but its spiritual value is greater still. Thanks to this wonderful project, our school has, in a very real sense, become part of the bond between Armenia and the diaspora. Just as we appreciate the Syrian-Armenian community’s largesse and feel that it is our duty to take good care of its gift, we are gratified by the fact that today our students were once again reminded of the importance of a good deed. They learned that being engaged in altruism is always a rewarding experience.”

ABOUT ARMENIA FUND USA: founded in 1992, was one of the first of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s 20 international affiliates and serves constituents in all states east of the Mississippi. As a non-profit, non-governmental, nonsectarian organization, the Fund represents all Armenian constituents, supporting strategic infrastructure projects in Armenia and Karabakh. The Fund has adopted a policy to go “Beyond Bricks and Mortar” to provide sustainability for projects it sponsors.

To learn more about Armenia Fund USA, please visit our website at
www.ArmeniaFundUSA.org or call us at 212-689-5307.