The Armenian Relief Society (ARS) of Eastern USA Board of Regional Directors recently announced the establishment of a $15,000 scholarship fund in honor of Vergine Jamgotchian, a lifelong ARS member, by her daughter Dr. Meliné Karakashian.
Annual scholarships in the amount of $500 will be given to two refugee female students from Aleppo who are currently studying at the Melankton & Haig Arslanian Jermaran in Beirut, Lebanon. Annual scholarships of $500 will also be given to three refugee girls from Aleppo, currently studying at the Azkayin schools in Beirut. The duration of the fund will be six years.
Ungerouhi Vergine Jamgotchian was born in Athens, Greece, in 1922, and relocated to Lebanon with her family. Her father Ghevont, a college graduate, engaged in an export business to America. He encouraged Vergine to learn a trade, that of dress designing, and said, “With sewing, you will never stay hungry in life.” This is a trade she enjoyed late into her years. While in Lebanon, Vergine served LOKH (the ARS in Lebanon) for many years as a member and as treasurer. Devotion and loving reunions characterize her family. Over the course of her life, Vergine’s greatest joy has been reuniting with aunts, uncles, and cousins in North and South America.
Vergine joined the ARS in New Jersey and, because of her lovely voice, served on the choir of St. Stepanos Church in Elberon, N.J. To this day, she sings, “Ays al gantsni.”
She valued education, encouraged her children to seek higher education, and offered scholarships to the needy. Her grandfather, the Very Rev. Haroutoune Armaghanian (1855-1931), had a great impact on her; and his children and grandchildren have carried on his legacy.
The ARS of Eastern USA Board is grateful to Vergine Jamgotchian and Meliné Karakashian for establishing the fund, which gives young, impoverished Armenian women the opportunity to pursue higher education.
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