For Immediate Release
April 23, 2013

HAYASTAN ALL-ARMENIAN FUND OPENS NEW SCHOOL IN DITAVAN

NEW YORK, New York — With a festive opening ceremony held on April 22 in Ditavan, a village in Armenia’s Tavush Region, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund unveiled the community’s newly constructed school. The two-story school has been built and furnished with the financial support of Mr. and Mrs. Armen and Nadia Ekserciyan of Argentina, longtime Benefactor Members of the fund. Thanks to over 300 million Armenian drams in donations made by the Ekserciyans in recent years, Ditavan today has a community center and a new school, as well as around-the-clock access to drinking water and gas.

Dignitaries and guests attending the opening ceremony included Armen Gevorgyan, acting vice prime minister of Armenia; Armen Ghularyan, governor of Tavush; Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund; Archbishop Yeznik Petrosyan, primate of the Tavush Diocese; and the project’s benefactors, together with their children and grandchildren.

The guests were welcomed by the residents of Ditavan at the ceremony with the traditional offering of salt and bread. The honor of cutting the red ribbon was given to Mr. and Mrs. Ekserciyan, who hold the title of Honorary Citizens of Ditavan.

“Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Ekserciyan, life in Ditavan has improved considerably,” Vardanyan said in his welcome speech. Addressing the residents of the community, he continued: “Preserve what has been created through the generosity of this wonderful family, while we at the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund will continue to do our utmost to help ease your hardships.”

“Who would’ve thought that one day a family like the Ekserciyans would visit our village and go on to fundamentally improve our quality of life?” said Armen Hakhverdyan, principal of the school, in his remarks. “We are so proud of the fact that such caring individuals stand by us.”

Also conveying the gratitude of Ditavan’s residents was former mayor Hakob Saribekyan, who surprised the Ekserciyans when he announced that he was gifting them with a portion of his property, a parcel of land in Ditavan.

Thirty students will attend the new school of the village, which has a population of close to 300.

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.