Last week, members of the Fund for Armenian Relief Board of Directors—led by Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan and FAR Board Chairman Randy Sapah-Gulian—traveled across the breadth of Armenia, to view FAR’s numerous projects in person, and meet the people from every walk of life who benefit from FAR’s three decades of humanitarian outreach and societal development in our homeland.
“Everywhere we went,” said Bishop Mesrop, “we saw the incredible power of faith in action.”
The group’s journey began in Armenia’s western Aramavir Province, with a visit to the James and Marta Batmasian Vocational Training Center in Parakar, revitalized in 2019. Here, students with and without disabilities learn side by side, gaining skills in mechanics, carpet weaving, culinary arts, hairstyling, gardening, and more.
The final stop was in Tavush Province, in Armenia’s northeast, where FAR has been implementing the Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Program (BCPP), made possible through the generous support of FAR Board Member Edward Mardigian and the family foundation.
In between, the FAR board visited the Mardigian Child Protection Center in Yerevan; Vanadzor Old Age Home, where a heartwarming celebration marked National Seniors Day; Vanadzor Art School; the Janet Mardigian Kindergarten; Dilijan State Art College; and more.
In Tavush, FAR-supported entrepreneurs, including a number displaced from Artsakh, proudly showcased their handmade goods, inviting the guests to try their products. And in Gyumri, at GITC’s Armenian Creative Technologies (ACT) College, the board members opened new technology labs and met the inspiring young women of the “SheCan” program, who are poised to reshape Armenia’s future.
During the trip, the group also met with U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien, at the United States Embassy in Yerevan.
The weeklong journey concluded at Holy Etchmiadzin, where His Holiness Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians, received the board members with fatherly warmth, blessed FAR’s mission, and expressed his deep appreciation for FAR’s decades of service. His Holiness also led the board members through the restored Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, the museums of the Mother See, and the Pontifical Residence.
Bishop Mesrop summed up his impressions of the trip: “Through FAR’s work, faith and generosity unite to transform lives: feeding the hungry, educating the young, honoring the elderly, empowering women, and renewing Armenia’s strength. This is faith in action—sacred work that restores dignity and inspires hope.”
Click the following links to view photo highlights of the trip; and explore each day’s visits through a series of in-depth photo galleries.
Learn more about the work of the Fund for Armenian Relief, and how to support its work, on the FAR website.