For Immediate Release
October 21, 2011

WITH SUPPORT FROM ARMEN AND NADIA EKSERCIYAN NEW SCHOOL BUILT IN DITAVAN, TAVUSH REGION

NEW YORK, New York — The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund continues to implement a diversity of development projects across Armenia. Recently it began construction of a new school in the village of Ditavan, Tavush region.

The project is financed by Mr. and Mrs. Armen and Nadia Ekserciyan of Argentina, who are major benefactors of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. Since 2007 they have donated over US $800,000 to projects carried out in Ditavan, a community of 120 households.

“We commend the patriotic dedication of the Ekserciyans, thanks to whose continued generosity the residents of Ditavan now enjoy normal access to potable water and natural gas, in addition to a modern administrative building as well as a community center,” said Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund.

Ditavan’s future school will be a two-story structure designed to accommodate up to 60 students. It will have eight classrooms and a small gym. Also included in the project is the provision of all necessary furnishings as well as computer and other equipment. Heating for the school will be generated by Ditavan’s recently built gas pipeline.

With construction of the school’s first floor already completed, currently crews are working on the second level.

The critical need for a new school has long been felt in Ditavan. The community’s existing campus, built in the 1950s, is a decaying wooden structure that lacks a proper foundation. Over the years, as the school ran out of room, four ramshackle trailers were attached to the structure for additional instruction space. These trailers are extremely uncomfortable and vulnerable to the elements. Currently 42 students attend the school. Following graduation from eighth grade, Ditavan students continue their education at the community school in neighboring Azatamut, located two kilometers away.

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.