Last year, Armenia Fund («Հայաստան» Համահայկական Հիմնադրամ) hosted its annual telethon to benefit the
construction of the Vardenis-Martakert Highway. A year later, there has
been a great deal of progress. Today, November 27, 2014, the goal is to raise the
needed money to get the job done.
It has been a difficult year for Armenia since the 2013 telethon. Under constant attack this summer by Azerbaijan, several
soldiers lost their lives defending the homeland. In August, two homes in Aygepar burned down after being fired
upon by large caliber Azerbaijani artillery. And, just last week, there
was another brazen attack by Azerbaijan on an unarmed Armenian
helicopter running drills in Artsakh – the three soldiers onboard were
killed.
There is no question that the villagers in these hard-to-reach parts
of Armenia – in Tavush, in Artsakh, in Gegharkunik – live by the sweat
of their brow. They farm, they raise animals, they grow fruits and
vegetables, and they get by.
Armenia Fund wants them to do more than get by. That’s why in 2013
it focused its annual telethon on raising money to build the Vardenis-Martakert highway. The road would cut
through northern Artsakh and connect it with the rest of Armenia, ending
at Vardenis, not far from the shores of Lake Sevan.
In 2013 Armenians around the world answered the call to help this
part of Armenia develop economically by having access to markets beyond
their small villages: $22.6 million was raised and, of that, $11.25
million was allocated to the road. The remainder was specifically
earmarked by donors for other Armenia Fund projects including healthcare
centers like the newly opened Stepanakert Hospital, educational
facilities like the Togh Art School in Artsakh, agricultural development
projects like the one in Lusahovit, community centers from Shirak to
Tavush to Martuni, and water and irrigation systems in the villages and
regions that need them most.
Work on the Vardenis-Martakert highway has been going
full steam ahead. Parts of it are already either complete or near
completion – and the effects can already be felt by the locals.
“I pick the apples from my fields and sell them here,” an apple
farmer says as he points to the apples he sells on the side of the road.
“That road is for people like me so that there are customers I can sell
my apples to.” “I’m very thankful to Armenia Fund,” he says, for
installing the road. It’s not lost on him that the road is being built
by Armenians – even when, as he notes, the “mighty Soviet Union” could
not manage to do it in the mountainous region where he lives.
Another example is Nor Getashen, a village settled by former
residents of Getashen village – currently under occupation by
Azerbaijan – and along the path of the Vardenis-Martakert Highway. Mayor Alexander Nazaryan says: “A lot of people from the village are
working on the construction of the road.” He explains that “everything
grows here but we’re unable it to sell it anywhere since there is no
road. Now that there will be a road, we’ll be able to reach markets in
Vardenis and beyond.” It’s not the only project that Armenia Fund has
realized to benefit Nor Getashen: the mayor proudly recalls that, years
ago, the organization also built a water distribution system for the
village.
The first eight miles of the road have already been paved enough to
start being used. A local driving on the road, seated in his old car,
says, “Before it would take me an hour to drive this road; now it takes
me five minutes.”
Once the Vardenis-Martakert highway is fully built, it will give
villagers access to a larger Armenian market, as well as to markets in
Georgia and Russia – places which are currently too difficult to reach
for it to be economical to take produce there. The increased access will
also encourage higher volume production by farmers who currently have
little incentive to do so for lack of anywhere to sell their produce.
The road is also expected to boost tourism because it traverses some of
the most beautiful parts of Armenia, benefiting many rural areas that
have yet gained little from growing tourism to the country.
During today's telethon, the Armenia Fund will focus on
finishing the job of building the Vardenis-Martakert highway by raising
the remaining $17 million needed to complete the highway that will
connect Artsakh to the rest of Armenia.(*)
-----------------------------------------------------
(*) The November 27, 2014 telethon gathered $12,399,550 ("Armeniaca")
-----------------------------------------------------
(*) The November 27, 2014 telethon gathered $12,399,550 ("Armeniaca")
No comments:
Post a Comment