For Immediate Release
August 16, 2011

WITH SUPPORT FROM THE FRENCH-ARMENIAN COMMUNITY, TOGH VILLAGE WILL HAVE REGULAR ACCESS TO POTABLE WATER

NEW YORK, New York — The year of 2011 continues to be an extraordinary year for Togh, a village in Arsakh’s Hadrut Region. Thanks to the implementation of vital development projects by Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, Togh’s infrastructure is undergoing necessary improvements.

In May, the Fund completed its reconstruction of the arts center and gymnasium at the community school, followed by the launch of rebuilding Togh’s potable-water system in June. This June initiative is critical for the community and is co-financed by the Fund’s French affiliate as well as by the government of Artsakh.

Within the framework of the project, the Fund will build an internal network, with a total length of ten kilometers, and a 150-cubic-meter reservoir. In addition, the village’s water-purification facility and pipeline will be refurbished. As a result, the nearly 200 households of Togh will have around-the-clock access to drinking water, a significant improvement in the community’s quality of life and chances of further economic development.

After thanking the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund for transforming the community school into a beautiful and fully-appointed campus, complete with an arts center which now serves youths from neighboring villages as well, Shaboryan was happy to announce that currently the Togh kindergarten is being rebuilt, with financing from the government of Artsakh.

“For the past several years, a key factor in the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund’s work across rural Armenia and Artsakh has been its comprehensive approach to development,” said Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the fund. “Our infrastructure- and community-development projects are designed to complement one another, with the ultimate objective of stimulating local economic and cultural growth.”

“Water is central to the life of the village,” said Togh mayor Alexander Shaboryan. The reconstruction of the water system in Togh will enable its residents to live a healthier lifestyle. As clean water is made more readily accessible to residents of Armenia, healthcare within Armenia will improve as well.

“If only our roads and community center were also upgraded, new life would be breathed into the village,” the mayor continued. “Our residents stuck it out, even during the most difficult years of the war. They didn’t leave because they believed that one day their community would be reborn.”

Togh has a population of about 750. Grape-growing and grain-cultivation are the main occupations of the villagers. Other residents are employed by local stone workshops or are engaged in the production of flour and pasta.

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.