December 22, 2009 - 15:28 AMT
Hayastan All-Armenian Fund to gift furniture to 85 Artsakh schools
Hayastan All Armenian Fund's second major school-furniture project, launched in August of this year, is nearing completion. The beneficiaries of the initiative are 85 schools across Artsakh - including those in the cities of Stepanakert and Shushi as well as the regions of Askeran, Martakert, Martuni, Hadrut, Shahumyan, and Kashatagh, the Fund said in a press release.

The campuses will receive various furniture items essential to teachers and students. The project is sponsored by the Armenia Fund U.S. Western Region. The donated furniture, which includes more than 1,000 teacher chairs and 1,300 cabinets, is being manufactured by the HATM company of Gyumri, Armenia. To date a large proportion of the order has been fulfilled and shipped to Artsakh. The furniture will be distributed by the Artsakh Ministry of Education, with priority given to schools that need immediate assistance.   

"High-quality school amenities are of course a prerequisite to a productive learning environment," said Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. "The new furniture donated to schools in Artsakh will help ensure creature comforts and ultimately play its role in contributing to scholastic achievement." 

Earlier this year, the Hayastan All Armenian Fund's French affiliate sponsored the provision of new furniture to more than 100 schools in Artsakh. The initiative has resulted in comfortable and well-appointed classrooms as well as science and computer labs for over 10,000 students.