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Gogaran, the epicentre of the devastating earthquake of 1988 - in the foreground the new school building which was built with the assistance of KASA. The land in the southern Caucasus "behind the Ararat” is very similar to Switzerland. It is a land locked country without major natural resources, where farming has to be done on rocky and hard to cultivate land. Aside the cultivation of fruit like apricots, plums, cherries, apples, pears, and nuts - in the south also grapes, mulberries, figs, kaki and pomegranates – the ground is mostly appropriate for livestock farming. Towards the end of the Soviet regime in the eighties, the Armenian economy, industry, tourism and agriculture was considered to be quite progressive and leading within the area. After the earthquake, leading into a total energy crisis, and the extensive isolation of the country caused by conflicts with surrounding nations, the flourishing economy collapsed, and with it any social institutions like the health care and educational system. Many Armenian’s immigrated to various parts of the world, taking with them substantial educational know how. Today, education is one of the most important 'natural' resources of this country - as it is for Switzerland too. Armenia looks back on more than 4000 years of culture with 1700 years of Christianity (In 301 AD Armenia was the first officially Christian country), which blossomed into an extraordinary literature and architectural age (Since 405 AD Armenia has its own scripture). With a dire economic situation in Armenia, it is vitally important that the country catches up with education issues for the youth. Mainly rural regions don’t have the resources to provide their students and apprentices access to modern information technology. NewsTherefore SHEN has launched a project with the target to provide each school two computers for educational purpose. SHEN (in Armenian "a flourishing and active community”) is a government independent organisation (NGO), which provides humanitarian help in Armenia since the devastating earthquake in 1988. Hayk Minassian, manager of SHEN in Armenia, describes the computer placement project as follows: "Le projet des ordinateurs consiste à les distribuer aux écoles des villages éloignés (2 ordinateurs à chaque école). Ce projet selon lequel on doit distribuer 400 ordinateurs aux 200 écoles des villages est qualifié humanitaire par le gouvernement de l'Arménie. Il est important à noter que dans le cadre de ce projet Shen organise sur place des 'trainings' pour les professeurs des écoles. Shen, par l'intermédiaire de Chène-France a déjà fait la distribution des 60 ordinateurs aux 30 écoles, ou les enfants se servent habilement de l'ordinateur. Nous avons encore besoin de 340 ordinateurs pour la distribution." CHENE France has already supplied several computers from France to Armenia and is also able to organise the transport from Switzerland to Armenia. We are now looking for ... Computers, which have been depreciated due to upgrades (mainly, the introduction of Windows XP) and that, would still be suitable for usage in Armenia. The machines should run at least under Windows 98, preferable under Windows 2000, and should be in good condition so the transport is worth the effort. Implementation in Armenia is being secured and accompanied by SHEN. Transportation is reasonable from approx. 50 complete units (computer with accessories and where possible with monitor). Eventually smaller units can be combined with bigger lots.  If you would like to contribute, or if you hear about any possibility to get hold of such computers, please contact us. Contact form info@ziran.ch ^Top |