With the support of Orange Foundation 1000 children in border villages of Armenia got Christmas gifts

On the upcoming occasion of the New Year, the Orange Foundation joined the efforts of the Jinishian Memorial Foundation in the border villages of Armenia, giving children from socially vulnerable families not only a joyful surprise but also necessary warm shoes. As part of the partnership, more than 500 children in the villages of Areguni, Avazan, Kakhakn, Aghberd, Martuni, Getik (Geharkunik region) and the villages of Pokr Sariar, Gtashen, Meghrashat, Voghji, Aregnadem, Jradzor, Dzorashen, Sarapat, Burakn (Shirak region) received gifts – sweets and warm winter shoes. 500 other children in Tavush region received toys and sweets.

Bruno Duthoit, President of Orange Foundation Board of Trustees said, “This is the third year Orange is celebrating New Year in Armenia. During previous years, our Christmas gifts aimed at simply giving joy to children – toys, stationery and etc. This year, when we learned about the activities of the Jinishian Foundation we decided to allocate the same amount of money to more philantropic and necessary gifts.”

The fundraising for warm shoes had started earlier by the Jinishian Foundation on the social network Facebook, and the objective was to find enough money for 1000 pairs of shoes. The organization had raised enough funds for 500 pairs. The Orange Foundation later alloted 9,000,000 AMD which has been used for an additional 527 pairs of shoes as well as sweets and toys.

Gevorg Aboyan, Community Development Projects Coordinator at the Jinishian Memorial Foundation said, ”We are often not even conscious that children in border villages need elementary things such as shoes. In some families, children stop going to school during winter months because they do not have appropriate shoes. We believe this is a good Christmas gift to children, to whom every little gift bring a lot of joy”.

Bruno Duthoit was accompanied also by several employees of Orange of different towns of the region.

All shoes are produced locally and are expected to last 2 years.