Welcome to Birthright Armenia’s 10th Anniversary newsletter celebrating 10 years of strengthening ties between Homeland and Diaspora by making service to and experiencing Armenia as an essential rite of passage afforded to all Armenians across the world. We will be taking a look at how it all started, some of the images from our projects over the past 10 years, what we are doing now and where we are going in the future.

10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION: Let’s celebrate a decade of success!

ALUMNI NEWSLETTER // SPRING 2014

• How It All Started• A Look Into the Past 10 Years• What’s New?• A Look Into the Future• Then and Now Spotlights• Catching Alum Doing Good

• From Our In Country Alumni• Reunion Time• Weddings and Babies• AVC Call to Action• The Quiz• Famous Figure in History

CONTENTS

Birthright Armenia is the brainchild of Edele Hovnanian, a prominent leader and philanthropist in the Armenian-American community. She was raised in New Jersey and comes from a large family which values its ancestral roots. Her grandfather was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, but until college she was only involved in Armenian organization peripherally. After graduating college, Edele decided to take a year off and so, in 1982, Edele traveled to Armenia for a year and “something clicked,” she explained. When remembering her experience she recalled, “The trip gave me an opportunity to understand the people and see Armenians from a different perspective. The trip changed my life and defined who I am today.” Upon her return home, Edele embraced her Armenian identity and started getting involved in the Armenian community.

She had a vision of bringing Armenian diasporians to Armenia for an experience, like she had, that could truly change their lives. She was determined to provide an opportunity to immerse young adults into the country’s culture, language and way of life, instead of experiencing the Homeland as a tourist.

Eager to get started, Edele needed someone who could help design and run the program. In the fall of 2003, she hired Linda Yepoyan to be the executive director. In the summer of 2004, Birthright Armenia sponsored its pilot group of 34 North American participants. Depi Hayk was launched! Sevan Kabakian then joined the team as country director in the spring of 2006.

Since the time of its humble beginnings Birthright Armenia has made a splash within Armenian communities around the globe, having sponsored a total of 825 volunteers who hail from 32 different countries.

We should all be very proud.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

2

3

A LOOK INTO THE PAST 10 YEARS Remembering Moments from BR/DH History

3

2004 2005 2006

2007 2008 2009

2010 2011 2012

2013 2014

SHOOTING FOR

300 VOLUNTEERS!

2015

4

WHAT’S NEW?

Perhaps the biggest news this spring has been the launch of our new website! In addition to a cutting-edge look, easy navigation, cross-platform integration and multi-language content to come, the website includes a separate section for our growing base of 820+ alumni to serve as a resource guide of alumni benefits, highlights alumni achievements, and encourages networking opportunities.

Here you can find information regarding the “Next Step” Alumni Fund, Pathway to Armenia program application, and tools to spread the word within your communities under “Ways to Give Back” section. Also we are going to add a section for job opportunities in Armenia in partnership with Repat Armenia.

We want to make sure it meets your interests and needs so please message us your own ideas and send your news to info@birthrightarmenia.am.

4

5

2. More networking benefits to come for Alumni Program: An alum who works in the legal sector expressed to Linda Yepoyan, “It would be great to be able to connect with all the lawyers in the Birthright alumni network. That would be a huge benefit in my professional career, and we could have the opportunity to collaborate with each other.” In response to this feedback, just one of the features that will be added to the Alumni Program is the opportunity for alum to join and visit the Birthright LinkedIn Group and with a simple search, you can find who all the lawyers, social workers, doctors, filmmakers, teachers and other professionals are who are working in your field. If you aren’t already a member of the Birthright LinkedIn Group, feel free to sign up today by visiting the group. “The richest people in the world look for and build networks, everyone else looks for work.” — Robert Kiyosaki. Which path do you want to choose?

4. Our first participant from neighbouring Iran – Nairie Tahmassian joined us on February 25th with a one-way ticket.

5

3. Birthright Armenia & AVC on Recruitment Tour around North America and Europe

Recruiting on college campuses for those interested in professional internships in Armenia

Birthright Armenia presentation in Acton, London, hosted by Centre for Armenian Information & Advice.

6

We have a lot to be proud of, and there is much to aspire to in the next ten years.

Where do we focus our efforts?• Recruitment, recruitment, and more recruitment! Our goal is 200 participants in 2014 and 300 in 2015. We can achieve this with your help!

10 YEARS

“As a result of the Birthright Armenia program, I have met some wonder-ful people here in New York City. It is truly a valuable lifetime benefit to meet and connect with fellow alums from different years and I feel lucky that I was able to participate in 2004.”

“Going to Armenia gave me a much deeper understanding of my cultural heritage and modern day Armenia. I was most struck by the warmth of my host family. They really took me in and treated me like a member of their family and I am very grateful to them for making my experience enjoyable.”

Alexander Hakopian (NY ASA, 04) made his first visit to Armenia in 2004, as a graduate of Cornell Univer-sity and a participant of the ASA-NY. As part of his volunteer service, he was placed with Arlex Internation-al law firm in Yerevan. Following his BR experience, he studied law at the University of Miami where he received his law degree. Today Alex is a lawyer living and practicing in Manhattan, where he happily runs his own law firm. He successfully got his father, who had never been to Armenia before, to follow in his footsteps and make his first trip to the Homeland, too.

A LOOK INTO THE NEXT

We have many things planned for this year to celebrate our 10th anniversary, one of which is this section called “Then & Now Spotlight”. We thought it would be fun to profile a pilot program alum, showing a bit of who they were then in 2004 and who they’ve become 10 years later.

THEN & NOW SPOTLIGHT: Where Are They Now?

6

• Growing and enhancing the Alumni Program to strengthen our base, collective networking capability and opportunities

• Maintaining the high quality of the professional internship experience

CATCHING ALUM DOING GOOD

Haig Kherlopian (AAA ’07) New York—On Dec. 15, Haig Kherlopian was ordained as the minister of the Armenian Evangelical Church of New York in an impressive and elegant service before more than 200 people in attendance, including family, friends, supporters, and clergy from sister churches.

Haig Balian (AVC ‘10) Toronto— is currently living and working in Phnom Penh Cambodia where he is the co-founder of littleBIG Films. Haig says, “Our company has had a number of small successes over the past year or so, which have added up. We’re growing, with a staff of five, and have a number of film projects on our plate.” The niche of littleBIG Films is making films for the development sector, vcompany. They’ve done work in Thailand, India, and Bhutan, with projects in Mongolia and Laos coming up. Their vision is to return to Armenia to work on film projects.

On February 11, 2014, siblings Ani Martirosian (’09) and Arthur Martirosian (AVC ’12) were among the testifiers present in the Hawaii legislature who publicly debated and then rejected a pair of Azerbaijan-initiated anti-Armenian measures. They delivered a compelling, comprehensive, and persuasive argument before the Committee.

Ani Martirosian, who is a managing partner at AMS Naturals, Inc. and an active community leader, played an instrumental role in organizing her fellow citizens to speak out on these measures. Following the hearing, Ani Martirosian said, “I’d like this to be an example for all Armenians and other underrepresented groups around the world that our voices do matter. We must stay vigilant to recognize the attempts made to falsify our history, and we need to then take peaceful and meaningful action to counter with the truth. Today was a win for not only Armenians, but others who are in the minority. For the people, by the people – this is the way our legislative process should work. Let the truth prevail.” Click to read more and watch the debate.

7

Thomas Tafejian (AVC ‘13) — A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Thomas Tafejian for meeting his target goal of raising $10,000 for his World Music Project through the Kickstarter Campaign. Thank you to all the BR/DH alums, volunteers, staff members, and friends who raised awareness about this cause.

Thomas Tafejian, who is a teacher and musician from Olympia, Washington, led the first ever songwriting project at TUMO Center for Creative Technologies during his long-term volunteer service in Yerevan. Inspired by these experiences, Thomas started a campaign on Kickstarter called "Our Song: Workshop World Tour"— a musical journey to eight different countries around the world, documenting and sharing how young people express themselves through songwriting. Tom believes that music, and songwriting in particular, allows voices to be heard, breaks down barriers, and helps make connections between people, places, and ideas. Click to learn more about Our Song: Workshop World Tour.

7

Ashley Elgatian (LCO ‘05) recently moved to Chicago and in a short amount of time has successfully opened up a yoga studio. Feel free to drop by the studio for a free class and spread the word! Click here to learn more about Tyan Yoga Chicago.

8

9

I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya with my husband Ryan Weber, who I met while we were both Birthright volunteers in Armenia. We arrived in Kenya on June 8, 2011 and volunteered for two years. Upon our arrival we went through an intense 10 week language and cultural immersion training. Every morning we had a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro while we studied Swahili and got trained on water sanitation, HIV/AIDS, STIs, Malaria. You name it we were trained on it. Not only were we trained about the subjects, but also how to convey the information to the communities in the right way. It was important that I only wear long skirts while in the village since women don’t really wear pants.

After the first ten weeks, we were officially sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers at the US Ambassador to Kenya’s home. I picked up Swahili really quickly and was chosen to give a speech entirely in Swahili during our ceremony in front of the Kenyan press and media! That was nerve racking. After our swearing in, we were assigned to serve in the village of Kapenguria, where we worked for a local CBO called Yang’at Community Development Organization. Since most of the communities we worked with don’t have water, it was important to conduct health trainings and promote latrine coverage before we actually start projects constructing sand dams. Sanitation is a major issue as they are still plagued by polio during the dry season, as well as trachoma. As a former optician for nearly 10 years, it’s really important for me to help them with this issue.

Furthermore, Yang’at constructs sand dams that are built along seasonal rivers in order to provide water supply during the dry season. During our service, we repaired three broken shallow wells in West Pokot, Kenya. The sand dam project costs around $20,000 and our largest donor was Church World Service (CWS). After we find that the sand dam is successful, we move to Phase II and build it higher. During the end of our service we shifted our focus to food security, where we taught the villages near the successful sand dams about farming using different types of vegetables.

VOLUNTEERING IN KENYA– Lussia Kamberian Weber (AVC ’07) & Ryan Weber (AVC ’07)

9

FROM OUR IN-COUNTRY ALUMS: Jamie Kolar (AVC ’13)

Granted with a one year leave of absence from her job at the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Jamie Kolar moved to Armenia to set up her non-profit, Aid To Armenia (ATA). Read Jamie’s story to find out how it all started:

“Growing up as a third generation Armenian in southern California, Armenian culture has always been a part of our family and something that I wanted to learn more about. In May 2013, I joined Birthright Armenia and volunteered through the Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC). When I applied to be a volunteer in Armenia I had a lengthy list of goals and motivations for my five-week trip. Within my first twenty-four hours in Armenia I knew that I would want to stay longer than five weeks. As I started my volunteer work conducting training at the Ministry of Emergency Situations, I was met with many challenges and rewarding experiences. The common thread in all of my work placements were the lack of vital equipment, the very resourceful use of the equipment that they did have, and their strong desire to absorb new information. I come from one of the highest trained fire departments in the world in a city where there is no end to the supply of medical equipment. Equipment that I considered disposable in the United States, is carefully

cleaned and repaired in Armenia for continued use. It is easy to take for granted the abundance of training and equipment I have available to me at the fire station in the United States. I have spent ten years working in emergency medical services in Los Angeles and until I came to Armenia I did not know anything else.

I became a firefighter/paramedic because I have a passion for helping people. I truly enjoy my job. I have been asked many times “How many people have you saved?”, a common question people in my profession get. That question has always brought up a mix of emotions. I am passionate about being good at my job and I can think of many instances where a person who called 911 is alive today because of the interventions that our emergency services provided. Being a part of these positive outcomes is a very rewarding experience, but I also know that I am one of many qualified paramedics available to respond to these emergencies. Thus, when someone asks me this question, my first thought is that if I had been off duty that day, there would have been another paramedic to take my place who was trained to the same high standards with access to the same advanced medical equipment as I would have.

10

11

It was in Gyumri where I really got an understanding for the current state of the emergency medical services in Armenia. Most of the funding and donated equipment is funneled to Yerevan, leaving Armenia’s second largest city operating ambulances with empty shelves and lacking vital trauma equipment. Given the treacherous roads and many accidents that occur in the surrounding area, I was specifically asked by the doctor in charge of the ambulance to teach a course on medical treatment for car accident victims. I was excited to share my knowledge and the ambulance staff, many coming in on their own time off duty, were eager to learn. I quickly discovered that the ambulance company didn’t even have a spinal immobilization board, something that is carried as standard equipment on every ambulance in the United States. On further investigation I also found that they were lacking many important basic trauma medical supplies, of which I knew we had surplus of used equipment in the United States. Many of the larger ambulance companies and fire departments in the United States will purchase the newest model of equipment, letting the used equipment pile up in a storage room being held as back-up equipment until the room becomes full and the used equipment is donated to a place where it can

be used. Through the contacts I was making in Armenia and my career in Los Angeles, I knew that I could be the bridge between the need for medical equipment in Armenia and the surplus that is waiting in the United States.

With the help of financial donations I was able to open up my outreach to more than just the shipment of medical equipment and training for the ambulance personnel. I now have a program to teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid to the general public, and to gift a sterile first aid kit to village families so that they can properly and effectively use the training they receive. In my remaining time while I am living here in Armenia, I hope to build a strong foundation for ATA and establish a successful network, so that ATA can continue its vital mission in the years to come. I am so thankful to Birthright Armenia to have gotten a chance to come to my homeland and volunteer, that was in itself an amazing feeling. But the real satisfaction came for me when one day while doing volunteer work I stopped for a minute to look around at my surroundings, suddenly it sunk in that no one else that I knew of was waiting to step into this role in my absence and it hit me: my being here in Armenia really matters.”

11

Meet Nora Injeyan (AYF ’10)!Nora is one of our most recent alumni to make the move to Armenia! Always very active in the Armenian community in Orange County and throughout California, Nora participated in the AYF Youth Corps program in 2009. In 2010 she became a Birthright and AVC volunteer in Gyumri. She has a graduate degree in history with an emphasis in modern Armenian history. Nora landed in Armenia in early January 2014 to take on a new position with AVC as the Program Coordinator. She is very excited to be able to live in and be a part of Armenia’s growth and development.

We need your help to spread the word about AVC’s programs – Volunteer Corps, Professional Corps, and soon Voluntourism! Anyone age 21 and up who doesn’t qualify for Birthright Armenia can still volunteer in Armenia through AVC Volunteer Corps for one month to one year. And for Professional Corps, you just need to be over 32 with at least five years’ experience in your field and be able to commit to volunteers, with any background, who want to try something new and exciting and are passionate about not only making a difference but learning something new themselves.

AVC CALL TO ACTION

AVC’s exciting new program, Voluntourism, is for those interested in discovering Armenia, but being more than just a tourist. As the name implies, the 10 to 14-day all-inclusive packages will combine sightseeing, ecotourism, and both city and rural living with some community service. AVC’s goal is to offer an experience that will be inspiring, rewarding and very memorable! Watch for the announcement soon! And help us get the word out to your friends and family and anyone you know who may be interested in such an amazing opportunity!

12

On November 29, 2014 Ani Bagdasarian Packard (NY ASA ‘04) & Sevag Packard welcomed with great joy Loris Tovmas Packard.

On March 3, 2014, Vartges Saroyan (NY ASA ‘04) and his wife Antonia Alafris welcomed their second son, Nikolaos Gor Saroyan, at 7 1/2 lbs and 20 inches.

Brielle Veselsky Zahn (YSMU ‘09) and Robert Zahn are thrilled to welcome their new baby girl, Lunete, who arrived on February 24, 2014--nothing like being a family of 4!

WEDDINGS AND BABIES

Raffi Sarafian (DAC ’05) & Talar Topjian Sarafian (AVC ’05) celebrating the birth of their second son, Shahen, born December 23, 2013.

Sarah Wilkinson (ASA-NY ’04) and Mark Olivo got married on March 1, 2014. We wish them a long and happy marriage.

With great joy, Haig Seferi-an (AVC ‘06) and Stephanie Johnson Seferian (AVC ‘06) welcome their baby girl, Ani Rose Seferian on March 21, 2014.

13

The winner of the last quiz and a $25 gift certificate is Araz Boghossian (AVC ‘12). The correct answers are:

1. The head of the statue of what Armenian goddess was found in Satala (western Armenia) and where is it located now? (Answer: Anahit, British Museum)2. Name the Armenia produced “Instagram” rival smartphone app which has over 80 million downloads? (Answer: PicsArt)3. Name two of the four US states that have recognized Karabakh? (Answer: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, Louisiana)

Here are the questions for the next quiz:

THE QUIZ

1. Identify the 11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz) of Armenia. 2. Identify upon which monastery this relief carving of Christ is engraved on. 3. Which famous Armenian hero said this quote: “Nations that are unwilling to defend their own interests condemn themselves to death?” As always, e-mail all answers to info@birthrightarmenia.am and the winner will earn a $25 gift certificate for Amazon.com.

REUNION TIMEWinter 2013-2014: Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles, CA

during Sevan’s most recent visit.

Share with us photos from BR reunions in your hometown for the next newsletter!

14

FAMOUS FIGURE IN HISTORY

Garegin Nzhdeh was an Armenian statesman and military strategist. He was involved in national liberation struggle and revolutionary activities during the First Balkan War and World War I. Garegin Nzhdeh was one of the key political and military leaders of the First Republic of Armenia (1918-1921), and is widely admired as a charismatic national hero by Armenians.

In 1921, he instrumented the establishment of the Republic of Mountainous Armenia, an anti-Bolshevik state that became a key factor which led to the inclusion of the province of Syunik into Soviet Armenia.

Garegin Nzhdeh’s thoughts on The Younger Generation:

“Every new generation is vital. Today’s younger generation is even more than that. The destiny of our people is in their hands. The future of this country, the existence of Armenia depends on them. Whether the Armenianhood will be transformed into King (i.e. will be strong and prosperous) or turn into a wandering people, it depends on the younger generation. Only the generation living with such a consciousness can serve the immortality of his nation. An irreligious generation is destructive and miserable. For such ones, the universe is merely a spiritless substance and movement. Equally, the generation that is content with foreign bread is unfortunate and wretched. The younger generation should acquire belief in the Armenian regeneration – in God, nation, homeland, so that its nation’s past, present and future may live jointly and creatively. They should devote themselves with all their might to support the cause of the Armenian regeneration, if they do not want to live, suffer and die without the homeland.”

STAY WITH US!

15