AYF Donates Computers to Artsakh Youth

Each year the Armenian Youth Federation administers its Youth Corps program in Armenia and Artsakh, a 6-week initiative consisting of Diasporan volunteers running free summer day-camps for children. The impact of this year’s program was recently extended beyond its summer months, with the delivery of two brand new computers and a laptop for the local AYF Youth Center in Stepanakert.

“The AYF is committed to educating and empowering Armenian youth in both the Homeland and the Diaspora,” stated AYF-Western Region Chairman David Arakelyan. “Our programs in Armenia and Artsakh are geared toward helping young men and women acquire the skills and resources necessary to succeed in the 21st century.”

This past summer, while working in Artsakh, Youth Corps volunteers had the opportunity to visit and interact with fellow AYF members in Stepanakert.  They were quickly inspired by the level of commitment and motivation they saw in the youth there, who were working on important educational, cultural, and political programs. However, despite having renovated offices provided by assistance from AYF France, the Youth Center lacked any functioning computers—a luxury we tend to take for granted here in the US.

The volunteers relayed this information back to the Central Executive and requested support for their ungers in Stepanakert. Upon arriving back home and participating in the AYF Alumni Camp Weekend in August, it was decided that the proceeds from the event would be used to purchase new computers for the Stepanakert Youth Center.

The three new computers were hand delivered to their new home two weeks ago.

“We are hoping,” says Arakelyan, “that this small donation will assist the kids in Stepanakert in achieving their goals.”

Through both its Youth Corps program in the summer and other proactive initiatives throughout the year, the AYF strives to continue playing a direct role in the nation-building process in Armenia.

Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation is the largest and most influential Armenian-American youth organization in the United States working to advance the social, political, educational, and cultural awareness of Armenian-American youth.