COAF Celebrates Grand Opening of the Model Cluster Press Club and Three Other Cluster Initiatives

Armavir District, Republic of Armenia, June 21, 2006 — Today, COAF celebrated the grand opening of the Model Cluster Press Club in the village of Lernagog. The event also marked the launch of a number of inter-village projects in the Model Cluster, including the Waste Management system and the Inter-Village Transportation system. COAF also established the Center for Psycho-Social Services in Dalarik. The Center will serve all six villages of the Model Cluster — Argina, Dalarik, Karakert, Lernagog, Myasnikyan, and Shenik.

Speaking at the event were Dr. Garo H. Armen, COAF Founder and Chairman, Mr. Vache Terteryan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration, Dr. Artsvik Minasyan, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Issues and Dr. Larisa Muradyan, Vice Governor of Armavir. In their addresses at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the speakers emphasized the importance of strengthening inter-village relationships, improving communication and ensuring cooperation among cluster villages. The guests also commanded COAF on its rural development initiatives.

The Cluster Press Club based in the Lernagog Municipality aims at training 13 local youth in journalism for a period of seven months. The participants will be trained in mass media principles and legislation, different genres of journalism, newspaper production, freedom of speech and responsibility, and computer literacy. The project will result in the establishment of a self-sustaining small business that will publish the Cluster Monthly.

The Waste Management System is considered to be an innovative approach to the collection and disposal of garbage. The systematic management of waste will eliminate existing sanitary and hygienic issues in the Model Cluster, thus further improving the lives of the 16,600 cluster residents. The children of these villages will live and play in a garbage-free healthy environment. Hay Mshak, a Lernagog NGO, recently established a limited company that aims to serve as the revenue-generating arm of the NGO for ensuring the sustainability of public operations, including the long-term maintenance and renovation of public buildings.

The third Model Cluster project that COAF launched today is the Inter-Village Transportation System. The thirteen-seat van will operate in the Model Cluster facilitating the movement of local residents from one cluster village to another, whether to attend an inter-village community event, utilize a service available elsewhere, for personal business reasons, or for leisure. The transportation timetable is set in a graphic that allows residents to connect with other operating public transportation systems that connect to major hubs, Armavir and Yerevan.

The Cluster Psycho-Social Services Center, launched today in Dalarik, is dedicated to defending the rights of children to give them the opportunity to live and grow in a safe and supportive environment. Specifically, it aims at raising public awareness of child’s rights in the community, with emphasis on training parents and educators on the rights of socially-disadvantaged or disabled children. By making psycho-social services available to the cluster communities, COAF intends to secure the integration of disadvantaged and disabled children and their families in the larger society. This project is co-funded by UNICEF.

The projects launched by COAF today in the Model Cluster communities of Armavir District are integral to the Fund’s Comprehensive Rural Development Program, which comprises a) economic development; b) infrastructure rehabilitation, and c) community development, including health care, social and educational projects. In each of these program components, COAF’s efforts focus on resolving the most critical problems that have the potential for the highest positive impact on the young generation. The uniqueness of COAF’s clustering approach lies in the design and implementation of such projects, which ensure lower costs while benefiting the highest number of villagers. As such, each cluster project aims to cover the needs of all six villages of the Model Cluster, as well as develop inter-village relationships and shared services.

COAF is is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that seeks to reverse the impoverished conditions affecting significant numbers of Armenia’s children by revitalizing Armenia’s villages and implementing projects that provide immediate and sustainable benefits to children and youth.

Hay Mshak NGO is a Lernagog-based non-profit organization, which aims at ensuring a healthy and safe environment for the youth and at contributing toward the balanced development of children and adolescents. Recent achievements of Hay Mshak NGO include organization of various cultural events both in Lernagog and through the Armavir District of Armenia.

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