Armenian Adoption and Children of Armenia Fund presents their winter soiree

The most powerful charity for children in Armenia is the COAF (Children of Armenia Fund) which works at the village level promoting jobs and building the economy for families.  COAF builds schools, clinics and foundations for children in Armenia so their parents are not put in economic situations of leaving their children with orphanages for food and shelter.  They have many big name celebrities that come to fundraisers, the east coast NY one is held at the Met and has included such notables as Jane Fonda, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, Ken Davitian and more.  Here is the upcomming fundraiser with Michael Aram Designs, we have had several with Jewelry Giant Alex and Ani as well.  Lets support the future generation of Armenia and build their education and economy. 

Armenian Adoption Adventure-COAF has another successful year.

COAF Kids from the Bagramian region




Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) inspired by Dr. Garo Armen, has done a tremendous job of reaching out to the vulnerable poor villages of Armenia. These people have no jobs, no future, no hope. Many leave Armenia for work to Turkey, Russia and Dubai and sadly leave their children in orphanages while they work a job in a country that has low wages or demeans the workers. Lets create jobs and hope for the people of Armenia.

http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?objectid=16CED6F0-A409-11E0-8DF80003FF3452C2&pg=2
Yerevan - Launched back in June 2006 as part of the Comprehensive Rural Development Program implemented by the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), the Child and Family Services Program has developed far beyond the initial goals of raising public awareness and sensitivities to the rights of children, particularly those with special needs, and the underprivileged and socially disadvantaged groups.
Today, it serves the entire population of the Baghramian Region of Armavir Marz and represents one of the only resource centers providing social work, community education and psychological services in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organizations and key stakeholders in the area of child protection in Armenia. COAF's Child and Family Services Program is also an active member of the National Child Protection Network operating in the country.
By addressing the social repercussions of extreme poverty and providing legal counseling and support to at-risk families, COAF's Child and Family Services Program aims to strengthen the social construct of the rural villages by encouraging attitudes and behaviors that create healthy growth environments for children and empower the most vulnerable villagers. Serob Khachatryan, COAF's Executive Director, highlights the importance of the project with regard to child protection. "Our Child and Family Services Program is an integral part of COAF's mission of affording opportunities to this generation of young Armenians, allowing them to reach their full potential. In this respect, we spare no effort in protecting the rights of the children of Armenia's villages and giving them the opportunity to live and grow in a safe and supportive environment", states Mr. Khachatryan.
In the words of Gayane Asatryan, Child and Family Services Project Coordinator, "The success of this program lies in building the capacity of the rural residents and nurturing collaboration between key stakeholders and local leaders, including the village council and mayor's office. We are proud of what the program has accomplished over the last five years, including combating child abuse, raising general awareness on issues such as human trafficking, gender equality, effective communication and physical and mental disabilities, preventing and addressing incidences of domestic violence and violence in schools and support for the acquisition of birth certificates and other identity documents, pensions and state allowances, cases of alimony, etc. Additionally, we are proud that the program has provided the opportunity for so many resourceful children and young adults to flourish in social environments suitable for self-realization and growth", concludes Ms. Asatryan.
A large component of the program involves social workers such as Ms. Asatryan meeting with individual villagers and small groups to connect them with the resources available to them through the state welfare system and provide other social-legal counseling. Many rural residents are unaware of the social resources available to them as citizens of Armenia and this support can make a tremendous difference in their family's quality of life. In addition, psychologists provide one-on-one and group counseling, hold hands-on trainings and case discussions and conduct weekly workshops for school psychologists.
Through the workshops held by COAF's team of social workers and psychologists over the past few years, community members from the villages of Karakert, Dalarik, Lernagog, Miasnikian, Shenik and Argina have been educated on such topics as stress management, parenting techniques, effective communication, healthy child development, common socioeconomic stressors on children and adolescents, teacher-student relationships, and the importance of creating a nurturing, loving environment for children to grow in.
One of the measurable successes of the program includes a recent decrease in the number of beneficiaries receiving social-legal counseling. As community-wide knowledge improves, more experienced villagers who may have previously received counseling on similar cases share information with their relatives, neighbors and fellow community members and awareness is raised naturally. This social progress is also seen in the intensified sense of community and unity in the villages particularly among the youth, who have recently been taking the initiative to organize cultural festivities and events.
Another important project initiated within the framework of the Child and Family Services Program in June 2009 was the launch of a School-based Psychology Program in the COAF-supported communities and the subsequent training of eight school psychologists in the foundations of child and developmental psychology. Following the trainings, a cluster network of school psychologists was created and has been working together since, with the future goal of expanding the network to the greater region of Armavir Marz.
Marina Bareyan from Karakert and Marine Khachatryan from Dalarik are among the many village residents who have benefited dramatically from the Child and Family Services Program. They were both unemployed back in 2005 but were educated and had been identified as individuals with significant potential to aid in the development of their communities. After receiving hands-on training from COAF's staff and participating in distance learning courses in social work through Yerevan State University, they received certification as social workers and have been actively serving their communities in this function ever since.
Hripsime Karapetyan, a trained psychologist from Karakert is another testimony to COAF's search for talented local individuals and the value they add to their communities when provided with opportunities for development. Creating professional employment opportunities and inspiring confidence in local leaders are minor accomplishments in contrast to the community-wide impact of the social services provided by this program. According to Hripsime, this opportunity has played a significant role in developing her personality, both as an individual and as a professional working with the children and it has also given her a renewed sense of pride and responsibility for her role in the social development of her community
Since July 2010, COAF's Child and Family Services Program has functioned at Les Enfants de Jésus Regional Health Care Center in Miasnikian, allowing the group to provide an expanded scope of services and reach a larger number of beneficiary families. At the Center, the visitors have access to a Resource Center where counseling sessions take place and a variety of research materials and specialized literature on child protection, human rights and other related issues are available.
On the threshold of the sixth year of its operations in the Baghramian Region of Armavir Marz, COAF's Child and Family Services Program serves as an unique and exemplary model to be duplicated in the rest of Armenia's rural communities, where provision of such services is rare, but critical to the formation of sustainable rural communities.
The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) is a non-profit organization, founded in 2000 in New York City that works to secure a brighter future for children in Armenia's impoverished rural villages through improved education, health care, community life and economic conditions. With the introduction of a unique clustering approach in 2004, COAF currently implements a Comprehensive Rural Development Program in ten villages in the Baghramian Region of Armavir marz and two villages in Aragatsotn marz. Over the past six years, more than 22,000 rural residents including 5,000 children from the communities of Argina, Arteni, Baghramian, Dalarik, Hushakert, Lernagog, Karakert, Miasnikian, Shenik and Yervandashat have benefited from COAF's continuous development projects and the improved schools, kindergartens, health clinics, sport complexes, community centers, capacity building trainings and workshops, and business opportunities that have resulted.

Armenian Adoption Adventure- Children of Armenia Fund works to increase economy for struggling families

Helping to train the future of Armenia, the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) has established training centers to further promote strong families and economy for Armenian villages. Keeping families together, and creating jobs and employment so families are not seperated by economic hardships.

http://www.armenianreporteronline.am/go/article/2011-05-19-coaf-launches-business-training-project

Yerevan - As an important addition to the economic development component of its Comprehensive Rural Development Program in the Republic of Armenia, the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) recently launched the Successful Business Project in the community of Arteni of Aragatsotn Marz and six neighboring communities of Armavir Marz.
The project enables about 50 start-ups and more established farmers and entrepreneurs to be trained in general business planning and practice and apply for loans and financial assistance. The goal of the project is to develop the economy of rural communities, fostering healthy competition and strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises.
Facilitated by COAF's program staff and participating partners, the intensive training program consists of three major components: business classes, counseling on elaboration of business plans and individualized mentoring for all trainees. Interactive by design, the project encourages maximum communication with and between participants, allowing for business idea generation and development as well as thoughtful analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of existing enterprises. For the first time, many rural business-owners are able to write formal business plans, create production plans and make critical financial calculations - important planning tools and necessary in order to apply for financing. These newly acquired skills are allowing local business leaders to assess the feasibility of their projects and act with longer-term vision in mind, considering expansion and future ventures in the years to come.
Rshtun Martirosyan, COAF Economic Development Program Manager, attaches great importance to the expected outcomes of this project which he believes will likely contribute to a culture shift within the village business community. "Currently, there is a big gap in the basics of business planning in rural Armenia, both in terms of knowledge and application. This manifests most noticeably through poor organization and management and business owners' inadequate or non-existent approaches to marketing. With the launch of the Successful Business Project, COAF will significantly contribute to the development of business knowledge among villagers in general, and marketing principles in particular, focusing on four marketing P's: product, price, place and promotion ", states Mr. Martirosyan.
In the words of Narine Tadevosyan, COAF Economist, "It is critical that rural entrepreneurs and farmers are guided by client-based strategy and principles and that they adjust their business approaches to the needs of their clients. Currently, the majority of our trainees have a resource-based mentality. They prefer to initiate those projects which do not require creativity and are easy to implement either due to the fact that the necessary resources are available, or that the implementers already know the traditional techniques and methodology. We strive to change that mentality and urge them to take into consideration the needs and wishes of their local clientele. Also, we encourage the villagers to avoid repetitions and think of innovative business ideas, focusing on their uniqueness and realizable features".
During Phase I of the project, which took place in the community of Arteni, a total of 23 business plans were presented and evaluated by a specialized committee, comprised of COAF leadership, independent business experts and representatives of lending institutions and banks. Some of the criteria for evaluation included the projects' viability in the market, their organization and management, financial feasibility, strategic potential, presenters' confidence, experience in business, clarity of business objectives, risk factors, etc. The business projects were wide-ranging, from agricultural production and processing, such as dried fruit, cheese, meat, pasta and pastry, to opening a hair salon, establishing a plant preservation station, furniture production unit, launching photo and video services, internet café including computer games, rental service for wedding party supplies, constructing a greenhouse and a grain collection service.
Despite it being the high season for agricultural activities in the villages, project participants demonstrated high levels of interest and the attendance of daily classes was impressive. Artak Darbinyan, an Arteni resident who majored in economics at the University back in the 1970s, describes the training program as "significantly important and helpful, full of modern approaches and new ways of thinking. The science of economics that we studied years ago", continues Mr. Darbinyan, "differs a lot from the one of today. The world is progressing rapidly, and so should we. In this connection, having participated in the training I gained a lot of helpful knowledge with respect to business planning, which I will definitely apply in the future".
Another success of the project has been the large number of women involved. In these culturally traditional communities, the willingness of women to contribute to the development of their local economies has largely been welcomed by the committee and the Village Mayors.
The second phase of the project includes training sessions in the communities of Karakert, Lernagog, Miasnikian, Shenik, Dalarik and Argina. Throughout 2011 and 2012, COAF's Economic Development Team will continue to monitor the project, provide counseling to all the trainees and report on the progress of selected projects. Support for the search for alternative sources of financing will be ongoing for those business projects which may not be funded by lending institutions at this stage.
The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) is a non-profit organization, founded in 2000 in New York City that works to secure a brighter future for children in Armenia's impoverished rural villages through improved education, health care, community life and economic conditions. With the introduction of a unique clustering approach in 2004, COAF currently implements a Comprehensive Rural Development Program in ten villages in the Baghramian Region of Armavir marz and two villages in Aragatsotn marz. Over the past six years, more than 22,000 rural residents including 5,000 children from the communities of Argina, Arteni, Baghramian, Dalarik, Hushakert, Lernagog, Karakert, Miasnikian, Shenik and Yervandashat have benefited from COAF's continuous development projects and the improved schools, kindergartens, health clinics, sport complexes, community centers, capacity building trainings and workshops, and business opportunities that have resulted.