Nerkin Tsaghkavan gets a kindergarten after 32 years

Kindergarten students gather for the ribbon cutting at the kindergarten at the Tavush village of Nerkin Tsaghkavan.

TAVUSH—Families in the border village of Nerkin Tsaghkavan have not had a functioning kindergarten since Armenia’s independence in 1991. Thanks to the efforts of the Paros Foundation and the sponsorship of many generous donors including the Dadourian Foundation of New York and contributions in memory of Sona Apelian, this community and its young people will now enjoy the benefits of early education.

Joining Paros staff for the ribbon cutting were Tavush Regional Governor Hayk Ghalumyan, head of the Ijevan Consolidated Community Artur Chagharyan, other regional and municipal officials, kindergarten staff, parents and children, as well as staff from Focus on Children Now, which provided furniture for the kindergarten.

Head of the Ijevan Consolidated Community Mr. Artur Chagharyan and Paros Executive Director Peter Abajian cut the ribbon on the new kindergarten in the village of Nerkin Tsaghkavan.

“Today is an amazing day for the more than 500 residents of Nerkin Tsaghkavan, said Peter Abajian, executive director of the Paros Foundation. “Not only will children and their families benefit from the existence of a functioning kindergarten in the village, but new employment opportunities now exist for people in this community.”

The community of Nerkin Tsaghkavan provided an abandoned building that would be suitable to house a kindergarten for up to 30 children. The Paros Foundation’s team both expanded and reconfigured the space to facilitate its operation as a kindergarten. Aside from expanding the facility, work on the building included installing a new roof, new windows, plumbing, electrical, plaster, paint and flooring. To help make the heating system particularly efficient, an under floor hot water heating system was utilized.

The Paros Foundation was launched in 2006 and has implemented more than $12 million worth of projects in Armenia through its unique model of philanthropy and community partnership. These projects are located throughout the country with focus on Gyumri and in communities along the border with Azerbaijan. Thanks to the generous support of the Strauch Kulhanjian Family, all administrative expenses are underwritten, allowing 100 percent of donor contributions to be allocated in their entirety to the projects.