The opening of a newly-renovated kindergarten marked one of the most recent achievements of FAR’s Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Program (BCPP).
BCPP supporters Edward and Janet Mardigian recently visited the Berd Region of Tavush Province to attend the opening of the Vazashen Village Kindergarten — a community that has not had its own school for decades. Previously, kindergartners here didn’t have a school to attend; they either stayed home or their parents tried to send them to school in other villages. Now, 27 kids, ages 2 to 5, can attend this new facility.
The school is the latest of 17 kindergartens to have been constructed, overhauled, refurbished or renovated through BCPP. A school lunch program is also implemented at each of these schools—a true asset in this impoverished border region.
“With you, you bring hope. God bless you and our country,” said Bagrat Srbazan of the Diocese of Tavush Province of the Armenian Apostolic Church during the school’s opening.
As a multi-faceted program, BCPP has helped to enhance education, healthcare and child protection in the Berd Region. Over the past six years, activities have been carried out in 19 communities with a total population of more than 30,000. The project has also created economic opportunities and supported agriculture, farming and business initiatives for people in the region.
The Mardigians, who were in Armenia to celebrate FAR’s 30th anniversary, also visited Tavush Village where they attended an exposition of those who have been impacted by BCPP, including local entrepreneurs, community health workers and students who participate in extracurricular activities.
“I would like to thank you for your loyalty. We can see that you have made changes in the lives of these people; you are cultivating the future of our country by educating and empowering them. You’re making the region self-sufficient by giving people hope,” said Edward Mardigian in a thank you speech to FAR after a tour of Tavush Village.