Internet Connects Karakert to the World

The Karakert schools celebrate the launching of the Internet

Karakert, Armenia, May 16, 2006 — Today, the Children of Armenia Fund’s (COAF) Model Village Karakert celebrated the launch of internet connectivity in the school and the larger community. The project, realized through partnership with Project Harmony (PH), will benefit the students of both schools in Karakert allowing the young generation and other members of the community to expand their horizons and take advantage of the unlimited informational and technological potential internet offers.

The School Connectivity Project implemented by PH is in its end phase of connecting the last group of six schools in Armenia. In Karakert, PH will provide up-to-date digital equipment necessary for the organization of educational activities and will conduct training of teachers and students in the multiple uses of computers and the internet. Within the parameters of this partnership, COAF provided the furniture and computers of the Internet Classroom in the newly renovated Karakert School #2.

The official launch took place today in a ceremony attended by David Simpson, PH Country Director. Addressing a happy crowd of students and staff of both Karakert schools, Mr. Simpson emphasized the importance of being connected through the internet, whether with the rest of Armavir, with other schools in Armenia, or globally. Mrs. Tamara Baghdasaryan, principal of the Karakert School #1, noted with pride, “We are happy today to acknowledge the input of donors for the revitalization of our village and the contributions made for making our community a better place for these talented children. This Internet Classroom is yet another example of the opportunities our children now have to learn and become productive citizens.”

Both schools of Karakert are co-located in the renovated school building and have an equal opportunity to be connected to the world. COAF and PH believe that this joint initiative will open new doors in the lives of the children of Karakert. COAF will also pursue bringing connectivity to the other villages of the Model Cluster.

Children of Armenia Fund was founded in 2000 with the aim to reduce poverty through the revitalization of rural Armenia and the realization of projects that are instrumental for the revival of communities. With the introduction of its novel approach to clustering in February 2006, COAF is currently implementing the Model Cluster working in six villages in the Baghramyan region of the Armavir District. The key components of COAF’s Model Cluster project comprise Infrastructure and Economic Development Programs, and Community Development including Health, Social and Educational Programs. In 2006, besides its Model Village Karakert, COAF is also working in Myasnikyan, Shenik, Dalarik, Lernagog and Argina.

The Armenia School Connectivity Program (ASCP), a program of the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, funded through the Freedom Support Act and implemented by Project Harmony, builds local, regional and national capacity to assume responsibility for the long-term sustainability of the program. ASCP provides resources, Internet access, and training for a network of schools across all 11 regions of Armenia. The program allows students, educators and community members opportunities to access and share information, to engage in online collaborative projects, and to develop technical skills marketable in a digital world.

CONTACTS: Sunny Uberoi, (212) 994-8206; or e-mail info@coafkids.org