FAR DIRECTOR SAYS YES! FOR ARMENIA’S FUTURE

By David Luhrssen

On Sunday, April 26, Sarah Stites, program director at the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), spoke at St. John the Baptist Armenian Church. She outlined FAR’s work in the homeland and described the youth outreach program called AYO! (Armenia Youth Opportunity).

Sarah came to FAR with a unique background. Her maternal grandfather was Armenian but died before her birth; she is three-quarters Irish and discovered her Armenian heritage only after attending an Armenian event in her Washington D.C. hometown. Sarah now lives in Gyumri when she’s not traveling the world on behalf of the Armenian cause. She later learned that her grandfather, who served in World War II, had established a program to help injured veterans. Sarah seems to have inherited a talent for caring.

Illustrating her points with slides, Sarah spoke of the multitude of projects supported by FAR in Armenia. Among them are a center for handicapped children, a bakery run by the disabled, renovation of schools and rural clinics, scholarships and grants enabling young people to attend college and physicians to obtain continuing education, grants to establish or improve small businesses, support for displaced Armenians from Syria and Artsakh, urban soup kitchens and a shelter for children from abused homes. FAR has also helped establish the Armenian Creative Technology College, a high school with Apple certification focused on digital technology and engineering.

She gave many specific examples, including help given to a displaced Artsakh family to reestablish a poultry farm, and pointed to how even modest donations paid for a washing machine and new windows at a Yerevan children’s center. Some Armenian Americans have encouraged families and friends to make a “birthday donation” to FAR in lieu of birthday gifts.

The youth initiative is called AYO! from the Armenian word for “Yes!” While acknowledging that the past six years have been a “roller-coaster” for the Armenian Republic, Sarah stressed the faith and resilience of the nation’s people, adding, “There is a great deal to be optimistic about Armenia’s future.” After she spoke, Rev. Fr. Guregh Hambardzumyan said that it will be important for the Milwaukee community to support a project in Armenia.

For more information, visit weareayo.org or contact Sarah Stites directly at [email protected].