Proceeds from ‘Women of Ararat’ R.I. Performance to Support Women’s Organizations in Armenia

CRANSTON, R.I.—A group of Rhode Island Armenian women, led by Dorothy Martiesian, organized a successful seventh performance of Judith Boyajian Strang-Waldau’s play “Women of Ararat” onn April 30. The performance, directed by Carol Mikaelian Schlink, was in tribute to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide and took place at the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Cranston before an appreciative audience of some 250 people.

All proceeds from the event were designated to benefit Mer Doon, The Women’s Resource Center, and The Women’s Support Center, all located in Yerevan. Each of those organizations has received $2,700 for their worthwhile and important work.

Mer Doon has designated the funds towards the purchase of a large van with which to transport young women to classes and educational programs. The Women’s Support Center will use the funds toward the needs of its shelter, as well as to pay for armed security during court cases  to prevent further violence against the women and Support Center staff. To provide more activities for adolescent girls, the funds for the Women’s Resource Center will be used for leadership training and other similar programs, as well as to assist in reaching out to young girls in other regions of Armenia.

Mer Doon’s mission is to help orphaned and disadvantaged young women in Armenia break the cycle of dependency by providing education, job training, and a loving, family environment, while instilling leadership skills and teaching self-sufficiency.

The Women’s Support Center’s objective is to create a safe environment for women—a place where they receive support, empathy, and the knowledge that they are not alone in their struggles. Women are provided with practical learning about domestic violence, as well as counseling that bolsters self-esteem and confidence. The Center offers a hotline, walk-in services, legal and psychological counseling, training sessions, and community outreach.

The Women’s Resource Center is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) founded in 2003 by women from Armenia and the Diaspora, and it is the first resource center created in post-Soviet Armenia for young women. The Center works in the area of women’s human rights, reproductive rights, sexual violence, and women’s role in conflict resolution and peace-building in the South Caucasus.