Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

UMCOR-Armenia to Celebrate 10th Anniv by Greening Malatia-Sebastia

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • UMCOR-Armenia to Celebrate 10th Anniv by Greening Malatia-Sebastia

    ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
    57/5 Arshakunyats Street
    Yerevan, Armenia 375026
    Telephone: (374 1) 44-74-01
    Fax: (374 1) 44-74-26



    PRESS RELEASE

    Nov 17, 2004


    UMCOR-ARMENIA TO CELEBRATE ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY BY GREENING
    MALATIA-SEBASTIA ALONG WITH ARMENIA TREE PROJECT


    Yerevan -- In celebration of a decade of United Methodist Committee On
    Relief (UMCOR) activities in Armenia, the international organization
    will mark its 10th anniversary with a tree planting in the `Motherhood
    Park' at the Malatsia Sebastia Community Site, on Friday, November 19,
    2004 in cooperation with the Armenia Tree Project (ATP).

    UMCOR has donated a total of 1,000 trees to this park. A portion of
    which has already been planted and the remained part will be planted
    on this special day by the heads and members of UMCOR, ATP and other
    guests at the event. Among them are thujas, ashes and junipers, that
    will serve as a beautiful gift from UMCOR to the local community,
    ensuring future generations with a flourishing dense green park, in
    place of the site's current deserted land.

    The celebration and tree planting is scheduled to begin at 2.00 p.m.

    Invited to participate in the ceremonial tree planting are
    representatives from UMCOR's partners and friends, the Ministries of
    RA, and over 55 local and international organizations who have shown
    support for the Armenian transition over the years. Expected attendees
    include the US Embassy, World Vision, Jinishian Memorial Foundation,
    Eurasia Foundation, UNDP, USAID, OSCE, and UNHCR.

    Following the welcome speeches planting will commence supervised by
    agriculture specialists from ATP, who will explain and demonstrate the
    methodology of tree planting in order to secure the survival of each
    and every seedling. Recently, the seedlings of sites managed by ATP
    produce a survival rate of approximately 90%, considered to be well
    above average.

    The hope of this event is to foster community awareness of the urgent
    environmental need to restore disappearing green areas. Furthermore,
    the event will establish a basis for further UMCOR-ATP collaborations
    with respect to community outreach and poverty reduction programs
    throughout the city.

    `UMCOR believes that improving the environment is something that will
    have a lasting effect on the families that live in Armenia and we are
    honored to support such an important initiative in commemoration of
    our ten years of service to Armenia', - says Warren Harrity, the Head
    of Mission of UMCOR.

    UMCOR and ATP already have had an opportunity to collaborate with each
    other. It was in June 2000, when 3 volunteers through UMCOR's `Global
    Justice Volunteer' program joined ATP staff doing volunteer work in
    ATP's programs. These volunteers were hosted by ATP employees'
    families and they spent their time helping and supporting ATP in its
    daily activities.

    The greening of Armenia is an important initiative that UMCOR seeks to
    support, and will do so through a coordinated effort with the Armenian
    Tree Project.


    United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR)

    UMCOR was formed by the United Methodist Church in 1940 to alleviate
    the human suffering caused by World War II. In subsequent decades, it
    became UMCOR's mission to assist people in need resulting from natural
    or manmade disasters, addressing three fundamental areas: emergency
    response, hunger and poverty, and refugee concerns. UMCOR works in the
    United States and approximately 90 other countries. Nowadays UMCOR
    also initiates programs geared towards development and capacity
    building, addressing the roots of hunger and poverty, and provides
    beneficiaries with the opportunity to become self-reliant. UMCOR
    headquarters is located in New York City.

    The NGO Unit of UMCOR was established in 1993. It operates as a
    professional humanitarian agency and is funded largely through grants
    from US and European government institutions, the United Nations and
    private donors. The NGO Unit has offices in New York, USA and Vienna,
    Austria. At present UMCOR directly implements programs in eleven
    countries worldwide, including Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in the
    Caucasus region.

    In the aftermath of an earthquake, regional conflict and economic
    distress, UMCOR established an office in Armenia in August
    1994. Initially the office focused on the distribution of
    pharmaceuticals to health institutions and clinics. Gradually the
    organization transitioned from relief to more developmental activities
    including the provision of medium-size agricultural loans,
    micro-credit and the provision of agricultural inputs.

    This year UMCOR-Armenia celebrates its 10th anniversary.

    UMCOR responds to natural and manmade disasters worldwide. It
    alleviates human suffering by providing relief and development
    assistance without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender,
    social status or political affiliation. The whole UMCOR membership
    believes in human dignity, that all people have a right to a life in
    which their basic needs are met. In Armenia, UMCOR assists the young
    and the elderly; men and women; the vulnerable and the poor; the
    healthy and the handicapped; those residing in the city and the
    countryside.

    On November 19, 2004, UMCOR Armenia will plant 1,000 trees in one of
    its final 10th anniversary commemorative activities. A park in
    Yerevan, known as `Motherhood Park', will receive the trees and
    provide a wonderful green area for the surrounding of high-rise
    buildings, secondary school, and children's polyclinic hospital.

    For more information, please, contact Warren Harrity,
    Head of Mission, UMCOR Armenia office
    Tel.: 24 81 41, 28 29 77, 24 92 15
    Address: 16 Karapet Ulnetsu St., Yerevan, 375115,
    Armenia
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Website: www.umcor.am



    Armenia Tree Project (ATP):

    Armenia Tree Project was founded in 1994 during Armenia's darkest and
    coldest years with the vision of securing Armenia's future by
    protecting Armenia's environment. Funded by contributions from
    diasporan Armenians, ATP has by now planted and rejuvenated 580,000
    trees at more than 468 sites ranging from Gyumri to Goris.

    ATP planted over 19,000 trees at 51 churches in Armenia in 2001 to
    commemorate the 1700th anniversary of accepting the Christianity as an
    official religion in Armenia.

    ATP's Community Tree Planting (CTP) devision plants and tends more
    than 40.000 trees each year, and the amount of planted and rejuvenated
    trees grows sharply monthly. We are partnering with communities,
    schools, orphanages and other institutions to plant and tend trees
    that deliver a range of tangible benefits.

    Our 3 nurseries (in Karin, Khachpar villages and Vanadzor, Lori)
    provide high quality, drought resistant indigenious trees for
    community tree planting. The Michial and Virgian
    Environmental-Educational Center in Karin serves as a research and
    training center for tree nursery technology. Many students from
    Agriculture Academy have already participated in the classes led by
    ATP specialist and experts from other countries.

    ATP creates a village-based model of poverty reduction and
    reforestation. ATP seeks to become `partners in development' and
    inspire villagers to become agents of reforestation via tree-related
    micro-enterprise in remote Armenian villages.


    For additional information, please, contact Bella Avetisyan, ATP
    Public Outreach Coordinator Assistant at:

    Tel.: 44 74 01, 44 74 02
    Fax: 44 74 26
    Address: Arshakunyats 57/5
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Web: www.armeniatree.org
Working...
X