orran “helping families in need”benevolent ......serj tankian and angela madatian • garo...

www.orran.amBoard of Directors: Armine K. Hovannisian, Susan Yacubian Klein, Ara Krikorian, Mimi Zarookian, Thies Clemenz, Miriam Clemenz, Hendrik Beye

Financial Director and Advisor: Krikor Krikorian Founders: Armine & Raffi K. Hovannisian

ORRAN BENEVOLENT NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONDECEMBER 2015 “HELPING FAMILIES IN NEED”ORRAN BENEVOLENT NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION

DECEMBER 2015 “HELPING FAMILIES IN NEED”

6 First Yekmalyan Street, Yerevan 0002, Republic of Armenia, Tel.: +374 10 535167, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.orran.am

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FRIENDS OF ORRAN FOR THEIR MOST GENEROUS DONATIONS IN

THE YEAR 2015Platinum Donors more than 50000$• VivaCell-MTS Ralph Yirikyan

Gold Donors 25000-49999$• United Trust of Sonic Preservation

Serj Tankian and Angela Madatian• Garo Mardirossian, Esq.• Austrian Development Agency and

Open Society Foundation ESP

Silver Donors 10000-24999$• Krikorian Charitable Trust

Krikor and Anna Krikorian• Akian Foundation

Zaven and Sonia Akian

• Dundee Precious Metals-Kapan Hratch Jabrayan

• Carolyn Mugar

Bronze Donors 5000-9999$• Vahan and Charlotte Zanoyan• Mentor Graphics Foundation• Sarin and Narek Yirikian• Oruncakciel Family Trust

Bedros and Anna Oruncakciel • Varouj J. Narguizian • Vertigo of Glendale, California• Susan Y. Klein

The Children of Orran wish you:Syuzanna Baghdasaryan - 6 years old - I wish you have lots of candy this year.

Seryoja Galstyan - 7 years old - I wish you re-ceive a puppy named Sevouk.

Anahit Mirzoyan - 12 years old - I wish you success in your work and may your kindness grow more and more.

Garnik Karapetyan - 10 years old - I wish this New Year will be good and kind.

Naira Simonyan - 9 years old - I wish God to be always with us and I want you to be healthy and happy, and let us be kind to each other and have a clean heart towards one another.

Eric Galstyan - 7 years old - I wish peace for our world and for all of us.

Ani Avakyan - 9 years old - May you always be kind and always smile.

Sargis Mouradyan - 14 years old - May you always have good news in your life and live a long life.

Mannana Hovhannisyan - 15 years old - May all of your dreams come true.

Susie Asatryan - 14 years old - Thank you all benefactors, you have done much for us and we wish you a successful year and a long life.

Lianna Mirzoyan - 11 years old - May the fire of your hearth always be burning.

Sign in to your Amazon profile through AmazonSmile and help our children and elders in need. All you need to do is choose Orran as your charity organiza-tion and 0.5% of all your purchases will automati-cally be donated to us.

smile.amazon.com



ORRAN BENEVOLENT NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONDECEMBER 2015 “HELPING FAMILIES IN NEED”

ORRAN ACTIVITIES

The Orran chil-dren were invited to take part in a concert titled “Give Rhythm.” The evening was organized by the Armenian Re-

lief Society and assisted by Orran’s volunteer Armina Khatchaturyan.

Orran children dancing at the concert

The children d e m o n s t r a t e d their mastery of math and other subjects at a competition or-ganized at Orran. Those involved in

the math and computer program financed by Mentor Graphics were shining when it came to calculative questions.

They are eager to answerthe questions

On October 20, the children watched the much awaited game of ACBA Credit Agricole Bank taking on a team of journal-

ists. Playing in the Bank’s team was French soccer star Youri Djorkaeff.

Youri Djorkaeff with Orran child Artyom Movsesov

June 1 children’s day is one of the most festive days of the year thanks to Marriott Ar-menia Hotel who makes the day as delicious as it can

be by barbecuing hot dogs and hamburgers for the children.

Orran’s Golden Autumn Choir performing on June 1

Chef Gerber of Marriott Armenia hotelflunked by the kids

A friendly soccer match benefitting Orran pitted the soccer teams of the following busi-ness companies: Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company,

Finca, Mediamax, Rosgosstrakh, Electric Net-work of Armenia, Grant Thornton, HSBC Bank, and Zeppelin Armenia. The winner was Electric Network of Armenia. Legendary soccer star Kho-ren Hovhannisyan gave out the trophies.

The winning team

U n d o u b t e d l y Marriott Arme-nia’s Christmas tree is the sweet-est in the nation as the children keeping up the 12-year tradition

decorated the hotel’s tree with cookies . No one noticed how the children were eating the cookies and candies meant for decoration.

Preparing the cookie orna-ments for the Christmas tree

Angels embracing messages of love were the decora-tions the children made to par-ticipate in Hyatt Place Yerevan Hotel Christmas Tree Decoration Competition. The angels winged first place among many competi-tors.

Armine K. Hovannisian receiving the award from Stanisav Stojcic, general manager of the hotel

A useful gift it will be indeed as the children receive their tab-lets made in Ar-menia by Armtab as a Christmas gift. The presents

were secured by ONEArmenia. Thank you to all the donors.

Vanik and Lilia learning to use their new tablets

We are delighted with our newest partner United World College (UWC) Dilijan. The UWC stu-dents who come every other week-

end to Vanadzor to volunteer have invigorated the children’s love for learning.

UWC students in action at Orran Vanadzor

A Life of Won-ders Competition – and it certainly was as three Orran children emerged as win-ners from the competition orga-

nized by Project Harmony and the US Embas-sy. Thank you Peace Corps volunteer Whitney Doran.

The winners with their certificates

Orran is going Digitec Expo for the third year in a row . The students are ac-quainted with the newest technolo-gy and get hands

on trainig on robots.

The math and computer group of Orran at the Digitec Expo

April 24 was loud-ly remembered as the children drummed their way to the me-morial of the vic-tims. The event was organized by the Diocese of

Gougark. Archbishop Sebouh Chouldjian had pesonally monitored the children’s lessons in drumming.

Beating the drums as the Orran children honor the memory of the Genocide victims

Krikor Krikorian, our principal benefactor, finan-cial director and advisor to the board turned 70 years young. The children could

not wait to celebrate his birthday at Orran and had the chance to do so when Mr. Krikorian with his wife Anna came to Armenia to com-memorate the 100th anniversary of the Geno-cide. Happy 70 Mr. Krikorian!!!

Children singing happybirthday to Mr. Krikorian

On October 20, the children at-tended a play called “The Crooked and the Straight” present-ed by the children of Bridge of Hope

NGO. Bridge of Hope is Orran’s partner in the Caucasus Network for Children.

Bridge of Hope children performing




semblyman Mike Gatto of the 43rd District and a Certificate of Commendation from the Mayor of County of Los Angeles Michael D. Antonovich and Supervisors of First, Second and Third Districts which was presented by Greg Kahwajian.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the evening was the legendary guitar of Serj Tankian. The guitar was played during the Wake Up the Souls tour for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and was signed by all four members of the System of a Down. Mr. Tankian intro-duced the guitar and recalled how two years ago he and his wife Angela initiated the soup kitchen for the el-derly in Vanadzor. A lively bidding ensued,. Mr. Garo Mardirossian Esq., a long time sup-porter of Orran’s mission became the proud owner of the unique piece with the winning

bid of $27,000.Hilda Bogossian, Development Director of Or-

ran North America stated “We thank all the gen-erous compatriots who took part in this Journey of Hope thus sending a message of faith to the children and elderly in need.” The evening raised $113,000 net.

YEREVAN: A dazzling evening it was as Arme-nia Marriott Tigran Mets Ballroom hosted over 250 guests for a night of charity on October 9. Orran’s 10th annual dinner celebrating Orran’s 15th anniversary took place among old and new friends. Following the cocktail hour of wine do-nated by Vayk group and amidst live violin music, Archbishop Nathan Hovhannisian blessed the table and spoke of Orran’s mission of helping families in need. Beautiful Hermine Stepanyan, Artak Vardanyan and Nazareth Seferian stepped out to lead the evening as master of ceremonies. Under the glittering decorations compliments of Any Rose, the guests tasted the fabulous meal especially prepared for the evening by Chef Rolf Gerber and savored in the taste of Karas wine, compliments of the company. The guests heard Orran graduate Hripsime Malkhasyan tell her story of how she learned a trade and now has a full time job thanks to Orran’s apprenticeship program.

Arthur Ispirian, Vardan Badalyan and Nara took on the floor to beguile the audience with magical vocal performances and set the mood for what the guests had gathered for. But before the commencement of the auction Mr. Hratch Jabrayan of Dundee Precious Metal-Kapan made a surprise announcement of a $15,000 donation.

The auction started with silk wraps donated by LAGalleria, a whisky of The Royal Salute , the Hundred Cask Selection donated by Yerevan Brandy Company, and a week stay at Hyatt Place Jermuk compliments of the hotel. Victoria Asla-

THE TWO GALAS OF ORRAN IN YEREVAN AND IN GLENDALE

nian of Armas wine became the lucky owner of a ceramic coffee set crafted by the children. The auction items were especially moving for Nina Hovnanian as she donated generously for an ev-ergreen tree to be planted in memory of her fa-ther Vahakn Hovnanian at Orran’s yard. Mr. Hov-nanian used to be a loved guest at the banquets.

The evening had not reached its peak until Ralph Yirikian called on the audience to be gen-erous and sponsor a child for $500. He donated $106,000 on behalf of Viva Cell-MTS and $6,000 on behalf of his children. It did not take long for the guests to respond to his call. A group of doctors from Fresno led by Mr. Berj Apkarian, honorary consul of Armenia in Fresno, a group

representing the Armenian Educational Founda-tion accompanied by Mr. an Mrs. Vahik and Alice Petrossian, Ms. Carolyn Mugar, the founder of the Armenia Tree Project, author Vahan Zanoy-an, Ambassador and Mrs. Edson Marinho Duarte Monteiro of Brazil, Ms. Narine Aghababyan of Image Code, Hakop Andreasyan, CEO of ACBA Credit Agricole Bank, Ms. Cristina Schirinian of Karas, Levon Altounyan of Ingo Armenia, Argine Davtyan from ProLife, Eric Hayrapetyan of Ernst & Young were among the generous donors.

At the conclusion of the evening over $160,000 net was raised and celebrated with the cutting of the MONO cake donated by Mrs. Parandzem Az-aryan.

GLENDALE: The 2015 annual Orran Journey of Hope Gala held at Vertigo in Glendale, California on November 8, 2015 was a resounding success with 250 honorable guests. Among the attend-ees were founders of Orran Armine and Raffi K. Hovannisian, major patron Mr. Krikor Krikorian from the United Kingdom, Congressman Adam Schiff and renowned artist Serj Tankian and fam-ily. The Primate of the Western Diocese, Arch-bishop Hovnan Derderian’s blessing words for the children and Rev. Vasgen Atmajian’s blessing of the table were followed by evening emcee Dr. Steven Kamajian who touched the hearts of the guests with his eloquent presentation of Orran’s dedicated mission of transforming the lives of children and elderly alike. He then introduced re-nowned lawyer Mark Geragos who inspired the audience with his thoughtful remarks and called on the guests to take Orran to heart and person-ally donated on behalf of his two children.

Mr. Krikor Krikorian, major benefactor and fi-nancial advisor to Orran’s Board of Directors gave a comprehensive financial accounting of Orran. Mr. Kirkorian underscored the low administrative cost of 13%, compared to the 30% and higher av-erages of other nonprofits.

Herair and Lori Garboushian of Beverly Hills Garboushian Gallery curated for the auction important art works by world-renowned artists Hagop Hagopian, Vera Arutyunyan Kaloust Gue-del, Seda Saar and photographer Ara Oshagan.

The organization was awarded a Certificate of Recognition from California’s Legislature As-

Photos by KAMOBLOG

Photos by KAMERA PRODUCTONS




IF YOU WOULD LIKE TOCONTINUE ASSISTING ORRAN:You can visit us at www.orran.am and make an online donation. For US donors, the donations will be tax deductible.

TAX-DEDUCTIBLE*

Please send your US tax-deductible donation to Orran either by post to2217 Observatory Avenue,Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA

Or by bank transfer toWells Fargo Bank420 Montgomery StreetSan Francisco, CA 94104ABN: 121000248SWIFT/BIC: WFBIUS6SAccount Name: OrranAccount Number: 8836295801*Orran is a charity with a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status.

ACBA Credit Agri-cole Bank has pro-vided solar heating

for Orran Vanadzor. We are saving money and protecting the enviornment. Thank you ACBA Bank for our first year partnership.

We invite you to visit Caucasus Network for Children (CNC) at the following address www.caucasuschildren.net to learn of Orran’s international activities. Orran is one of 15 NGOs from

the Caucasus to be a founding member of the network. The mission of CNC is to advance and safeguard the rights of children from vulner-able groups and their inclusion into education and the life of the community through mobi-lizing and networking the civil society institu-tions in the Caucasus region.

Teach For Armenia is an-other first year partner with whom we love working. Two

of the Fellows Armine Guevorkian and Vagar-shak Matikyan.are at Orran tutoring the chil-dren in different subjects.

We congratulate American University of Ar-menia (AUA) in encouraging its applicants to volunteer in the community. Orran has been a benefiicary of the campaign as significant num-ber of applicants come to Orran to voluneer.

The Austrian Devel-opment Agency and the Open Society Foundation have ap-proved the financing

of a new program called Speaking for Myself. The program calls for a number of activi-ties including the establishment of a theater group among each of the 5 NGOs of Arme-nia and Georgia. The organizations are Orran and Bridge of Hope from Armenia and Union Beryllus, Society Biliki and Liberta of Georgia. A partner coordinating the work of the 5 orga-nizations is Interkulturelles Zentrum of Austria. The activity is part of the Caucasus Network for Children.

We congratulate the following young couples and thank them for choosing to send their donation to the children of Orran instead of

treating their guests to wedding favors.

Two cri(cal

novels that

tackle a difficult

but important

global

phenomenon,

with direct

relevance to

present-‐day

Armenian life

A Place Far Away and its sequel, The Doves of Ohanavank tell the story of Lara Galian, a haun(ngly beau(ful siAteen year old girl from an impoverished village in Armenia, who falls vic(m to seA trafficking. Cased largely on real events, the novels are wriDen with the purpose of raising public awareness about this sad reality.

Proceeds from the sale of the two novels, matched by an equal amount by the author, are donated to organiFa(ons Ggh(ng seA trafficking and sheltering vic(ms of trafficking and

domes(c violence in Armenia.

“A Place Far Away is a compelling novel by a skilled writer who knows how to build narra;ve tension.” Clarion Review “Zanoyan illuminates the seedy world of sex trafficking in the newly independent states of the former USSR.” Kirkus Reviews “In front of us is a novel saturated with important literary and ar;s;c values. ItFs pages also include burning present-‐day issues, which emerge and are resolved through very well constructed characters and deep and nuanced psychological revela;ons.” Prof. Samvel MURADIAN, Chairman, Armenian Literature Department, Yerevan State University

“The Doves of Ohanavank: Absolutely wonderful. Poignant and a page-‐turner.” Chris BOHJALIAN “A Place Far Away is the first literary work dealing with sex trafficking in Armenia. It is a daring and courageous work …I hope it is read even in the most remote villages of Armenia.” Levon ANANYAN, President of the Writers’ Union of Armenia "The Doves of Ohanavank: A thoughPul novel that eQec;vely combines a thrillerFs pace with a ripped-‐from-‐the-‐headlines topic." Kirkus Reviews "The Doves of Ohanavank is poignant, complex, and humane...a suspenseful and compelling thriller." Clarion Review

The books are available in paperback and Kindle on AMAZON.

We mourn the passing of our loved benefactors Petros Aslanian of Dubai and Noray Moradkhan of California. We thank the families for requesting fam-ily members and friends to send donations to the chil-dren of Armenia via Orran in lieu of flowers. May Mr. Aslanian’s and Mr. Morad-khan’s souls rest in peace.

An intense psychological thriller produced for the centennial of the Arme-nian Genocide, 1915 was theatrically released to

critical acclaim in the United States, Russia, and Armenia in April 2015. Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray today and support the children of Or-ran!*Also: Try to find Orran’s logo hidden in the movie.

If you'd like to receive our news electronically and help Orran save

costs while contributing to a greener environment, please email us at

[email protected]

Become a friend of Orran on Facebook and follow us throughout the year.

Mr. and Mrs. Garen and Sonika Ouzounian

Mr. and Mrs. Allen and Vergine Haroutounian

Mr. and Mrs. Edward and Arpy Cherkezian

orran “helping families in need”benevolent ......serj tankian and angela madatian • garo...

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