ARS
Chairperson Visits Artsakh
Yerevan, May
16 -- On Monday, May 8, The Chairperson of the Armenian
Relief Society, Mrs. Hasmig Derderian left for Artsakh on a
three-day field work program. Three days before her
departure, Mrs. Derderian, along with the President of the
Republic and numerous high government officials, had
attended a special Requiem Mass, in memory of the victims who perished off the
shore of Sochi in the Armenian Airlines crash.
On the very
day of her arrival at Stepanakert, the Chairperson met with
the ARS/Artsakh˙s Executive Board and discussed the entity˙s
organizational issues and its activities around the region.
During the meeting, the Executive Board Chairperson, Mrs.
Nelly Ghoulian presented, in detail, the current picture of
the 10 ARS “Soseh” Kindergartens spread out across Artsakh.
Daily, more than 500 children receive free sustenance and
education in these nurseries, thanks to the generous moral
and financial support of ARS entities throughout the world.
All across the
Homeland, the Armenian Relief Society – whose Armenia
affiliate is preparing to celebrate its 15th Anniversary in
September of this year – continues to implement its various
programs in support of the orphaned children of the fallen
warriors of the Artsakh liberation struggle, needy students,
etc., coordinated by the ARS Central Executive Board. In
view of the fact, that many of those youngsters have reached
college age, the ARS has decided to start a program of
assistance to the scholastic needs of those who wish to
continue their education by attending colleges and
institutes of their choice.
Mrs. Derderian
was delighted to hear, that ARS/Artsakh is firmly committed
to participate in the ARS Centennial Pan-Armenian
Fund-drive, which will secure the necessary funds allowing
the continuation of the Organization’s world-wide
humanitarian activities.
The following
day, on the occasion of the 14th Anniversary of the
liberation of the City of Shoushi, Chairperson Derderian
laid wreathes on the monuments of the martyred hero,
Ashot-Bekor Ghoulian and those who fell on the field of
honor during World War II; she also visited the site of the
Tank which serves as a memorial at the entrance of the city,
following which, she joined those who attended the
commemorative services held in the Ghazanchetsvots
Cathedral.
On Wednesday,
the Chairperson visited the ARS “Soseh” Kindergarten of
Stepanakert – the oldest on the growing list of “Soseh”
Kindergartens in Artsakh. Mrs. Derderian, who was in Paris
from the 26th to 30th of April, participating in the
deliberations of the Armenian Blue Cross of France Regional
Convention, later attended, in Yerevan, on May 2-4, the
plenary meeting of the “Armenia” Pan- Armenian Fund’s Board
of Trustees.
The ARS
Chairperson departed from Armenia on Sunday, May 14. Until
that date, she continued her field work with the local ARS
leadership and a fellow ARS/CEB member, Mrs. Karine
Hovhannisian, resident of Armenia.
16 May, 2006