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2 September 2010

The official opening ceremony of the computer training centre situated in the community centre of Shenik village of Armavir marz was held on the 1st of September.

Orange-Armenia Company has supported the implementation of this project with necessary computers and super-speed internet. The centre has been thoroughly renovated and furnished with the joint efforts of Shen and the community. The community medical aid post which is situated in the same building has also been renovated.

With the 1st of September being the Day of Knowledge in Armenia, the first-grade school-children received presents from Orange-Armenia, and the library situated in the same building received 300 pieces of fiction books which had been collected by Orange and Shen employees.
The following were present at the opening ceremony – the Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer of France Telecom/Orange group Mr Mark Fossier, the CEO of Orange-Armenia Mr Bruno Dutoit, a representative of Shen-France Mr Hrayr Hrachian, all the population of the community.
Right after the opening ceremony one of the community members, a highly qualified IT specialist Yervand Ayvazyan, started his work as a system administrator of the computer centre.




9 August 2010

A field seminar on "Organic agriculture and ecology" was held by Shen NGO one of these days in Dprabak community of Gegharkunik marz. The seminar was organised in the frame of project of "Introduction of sustainable land use and biodiversity conservation practices in Dprabak community of Gegharkunik region" funded by UNDP Armenia GEF SGP. The training was planned for 7-11 grade students of 6 communities of Chambarak region. The field-seminar was held in the organic community orchard of Dprabak aiming to present the pilot project of establishing a community unit to the youth of Dprabak and neighbouring communities.

During the seminar Shen NGO specialists presented reports on "Organic agriculture as a prospective direction", "Production of biohumus and preparation of compost mix", "Mechanisms of diagnosing domestic animals". During the second half of the seminar all participants took part in the preparation of a compost mix on the orchard using red Californian worms.

The example of Dprabak community orchard pilot project will not only contribute towards the sustainability and social development of communities, but also will indirectly link the rural youth to with communities.



A French Armenian volunteer bakes lavash in Yeghnajur  40-hectares of organic apricot orchard  Discussion about ecology in Yeghnajour  The renovated medical aid post of Nerkin Bazmaberd  Children in the community center of Avazan  Director of Orange-Armenia Mr B. Dutois and Aragats mayor Mr G.Poghosyan at the opening ceremony of Aragats computer centre  The children had been waiting for long for the opening of Noyemberyan computer centre  Opening of St. Sargis chapel in faraway village of Yeghnajur  Many farmers are interested in organic farming

Community Development and Social Projects



Updated on 1 March, 2010

First activity as a newly established NGO was construction of 17 houses in Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabagh, for refugee Armenians who had narrowly escaped massacre in the Azeri city of Sumgait in 1988.

Economic crisis that followed the collapse of the soviet system, resulted in impoverishment of many communities. With the financial support of IFAD, World Council of Churches Armenia Round Table, Shen-France, Christian Aid, EED, ICCO, EPER and other EU and USA donor organisations, we carried out about 350 community projects throughout Armenia, with special focus on the North - Western earthquake stricken areas, villages populated by refuges and remote rural communities.


Constructed community centers in Lusakn and Daranak.

Wherever we go, the first thing we do is mobilizing the communities, helping them to get organized; support potential leaders by providing them relevant knowledge and information. The community Civic Action Groups (CAG's) take an active role in participatory needs assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of the projects as well as their further maintanance and operation. Some of the vibrant CAG's become the basis for CBO's- community based Foundations.


Renovated community center in Norakert. Opening of kindergartens is a priority

Shen thinks it important to take care of recreation and education of children from poor families. Since 1999, we established a Children's Recreation Center in Yeghnajour, Shirak marz, that we aim to turn into a summer camp for Armenian children from all over the world. Every year 150 beneficiary children from suburbs of Gyumri and other cities of Shirak marz enjoy fresh air, food and the pleasure of working in the farm. The school building was reconstructed to host the children.


Renovated school building and recreation center in Yeghnajoor.

The youth in many communities has only seasonal work. In order to make healthy and effective use of their spare time Shen builds and renovates village gyms and athletic arenas. As our experience shows this activity changes drastically the whole life of the villages. Another argument in favor of development of gyms and athletic arenas in rural areas is that school children do not have any sport facilities and therefore are deprived of elementary possibilities to enjoy their life. In the communities where Shen develops sport facilities we see positive changes in the mentality of school children. There are students in the beneficiary villages of Argina, Qaraberd and Ptghavan who have already reached outstanding achievements on a national scale.


The schoolchildren of Karaberd enjoy their newly renovated gym. A new open-air playground serves not only the youth of the bordering Ptghavan, but also the neighboring villages.


Drinking water is one of the most acute problems of Armenia due to several reasons, one of them being deterioration of the pipelines. Old rusty tubes leak, and the precious spring water does not reach people. Rehabilitating the pipelines and stopping the wastes is one of main directions of Shen's activity.


After the earthquake, former Soviet countries stretched out a helping hand to people who suffered. But often, in haste, they omitted some parts or neglected quality of their constructions. In the first two pictures you can see the missing sewage pipes in the trench in the central part of Jajur, the native village of prominant artist Minas Avetissyan in Shirak region and the completed project.

Construction or rehabilitation of rural medical aid posts and equipping them, as well as providing necessery training to nurses has always been the priority.


Renovated local hospital in N.Bazmaberd.



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