Atamian family announces eighth $100,000 commitment to border village communities

On June 23, Sarkis and his family, who are refugees from Artsakh’s Martakert region, moved into their rebuilt, permanent home in the border community of Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur. Karine and her two young sons also moved into a fully rebuilt home in the same village. Jean-Marie, Lori, Narine and Stepan Atamian made this possible through their generous and continuous support of this important border community.

“With the completion of these two homes for families in Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur, I am pleased to announce an additional $100,000 commitment for new home reconstruction in border communities in the Tavush Region,” said Jean-Marie Atamian. “I am proud of the impact my family and I have had in these communities and look forward to the next phase of our family’s investment.”

Beginning in 2013, the family of Jean-Marie Atamian, working through The Paros Foundation, initiated what has now become a comprehensive investment program to rebuild the infrastructure and housing stock of this important border village with a growing population of over 1,100 residents located in the Berd area of Armenia’s Tavush region. In prior decades, this strategic village had suffered from a lack of investment, creating difficult living conditions.

The early phase of the Atamian family’s redevelopment plan was to finance the complete reconstruction of the village’s infrastructure, including its large secondary school, expanded kindergarten, medical center, emergency services building and water distribution system.  Agribusiness and animal husbandry projects were also implemented during this initial period.

The Atamian family then turned its focus to the large-scale rebuilding and reconstruction of severely damaged houses to provide quality and secure homes for deserving families. To date, the Atamian family has financed the rebuilding of 19 houses. Most recently, the village celebrated the opening of two completely rebuilt homes. One is for a mother of two young boys who lost their father, and the other house for the family of Sarkis, who came to the village with his wife and their four young children after having lost their home in Artsakh. Sarkis (who serves as a border guard) is a hard worker who is eager to start a new life in the village with his growing family. The large two-floor house has been provided with new furniture, kitchen appliances and a bathroom. The cost of the project was $33,000. Sarkis and his family are the eighth family from Artsakh resettled in the community of Nerkin Karmir Aghbyur since the 2020 War and the 33rd family from Artsakh that has benefited from The Paros Foundation’s resettlement effort.

“In addition to providing families with dramatically improved living conditions, these projects continue to create material benefits to the local economy by providing long-term construction jobs and promoting the purchase of furniture and materials manufactured in Armenia,” said Peter Abajian, executive director of The Paros Foundation. “This highly successful village sponsorship model can be replicated in other border communities by other diasporan families and organizations.”

Since 2006, The Paros Foundation has implemented more than 375 projects in Armenia and Artsakh valued at more than $16 million. The Paros Foundation underwrites all administrative expenses, allowing 100% of donor contributions to be allocated in their entirety to the sponsored projects.