OPENING OF RENOVATED KINDERGARTEN IN ECHMIADZIN
Support A1+!On 3 May 2005 the U.S. Embassy in Armenia and Save the Children will mark the opening of the newly renovated Kindergarten in Echmiadzin. The project was implemented within the framework of the U.S. Embassy-funded Community Self-Help Fund program, which empowers villages and towns throughout Armenia to make valuable changes to their communities through small grants.
The project was successfully implemented with the cooperation and contribution of the Echmiadzin Government and the community, who contributed in total 3,6mln drams or approximately 29% of the project cost. The total cost of the project was over $25,140 of which $17,760 was contributed by the U.S. Embassy's Community Self-Help Fund.
Echmiadzin’s Kindergarten #6 was built in 1962 for orphans and socio-economically vulnerable children. In total there are 6 groups, or 180 children, enrolled from Echmiadzin and the neighboring villages. Although this kindergarten had been a model kindergarten for many years, offering after-school and weekend programs and even overnight accommodation for orphans, the building was in desperate need of renovation.
Due to a lack of maintenance funds, the condition of the building deteriorated to the point that even the toilets were unusable; the eroded sewage pipes had become blocked.
