For Immediate Release
October 21, 2011

CONSTRUCTION OF GISHI VILLAGE SCHOOL IN THE MARTUNI REGION NEARS COMPLETION

NEW YORK, New York — The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is putting the finishing touches on the new school of Gishi, a village in Artsakh’s Martuni Region. The project is being realized through a major contribution by the Vardanyan Family Foundation, with additional financing by the government of Artsakh.

The initiative was launched in 2009, when the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund and the government of Artsakh joined forces to build a new school in Gishi, given the severely dilapidated state of the community’s existing campus.

The new school is designed to accommodate 300 students (today there are 170 students in Gishi). The two-story structure has all the amenities of a state-of-the-art educational institution. It features 12 classrooms, a teachers’ room, a principal’s office, a library, an events hall, a gym, a cafeteria, and a health clinic as well as classrooms for biology, chemistry, and civil-defense instruction. The building is equipped with central heating and air-conditioning.

With the construction and decoration of the structure completed, currently crews are landscaping the school yard as well as building a playground and a soccer field. These last enhancements are financed by the government of Artsakh.

As he conveyed the Gishi community’s gratitude for the new school, Principal A. Avanesyan said, “We have so many gifted students who yearn to acquire knowledge and excel at their studies. Yet, without a doubt, the learning process is incomparably more productive when kids are given the chance to attend a new, comfortable, and well-appointed school instead of having to go to class in a crumbling campus.”

On his part, Ara Vardanyan, the executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, stated, “While the fund has been renovating and building educational institutions since its very inception, we are delighted to note that the quality of our construction projects, in education and all other spheres alike, has improved by leaps and bounds.”

The executive director went on to express hope that the fund’s collaboration with the Vardanyan Family Foundation will continue well into the future, adding that the new Gishi school will stand out in terms of both esthetics and modern amenities.

The Vardanyan Family Foundation has provided financial support for a host of infrastructure-development projects currently being implemented throughout Armenia and Artsakh. The foundation is also a major sponsor of various cultural and social initiatives.

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.