Orphanage » The Truth Must Be Told

The criminal case opened in 2010 against an orphanage director was suspended according to a 2009 general pardon

Jun 032011

June 3, 2011 Posted by Ara K. Manoogian at 7:37 pm 1 Response »

Source: Panorama.am (the Armenian version)

The prosecutor’s office of Shirak marz announced in 2010 that a number of organizations’ executives took care of their own interests at the expense of the children. One of these organizations is the Children’s Home orphanage in Gyumri, which according to this news, the director of the Children’s Home SNCO, Ruzanna Avagyan, did not perform her service responsibilities accordingly, and took advantage of her position in contradiction to the organization’s interest. In addition, the prosecutor’s office stated, “In the signed supply contracts, without the inclusion of provisions regarding the revision of prices, from 2007 to 2008, the organization purchased 97 different food items from 2 food supply organizations with a price of 4,093,165 AMD higher than the market price, which resulted in financial damage to the state-funded orphanage.” Continue reading »

One Day in the Gyumri “Children’s Home” Orphanage

Jun 032011

June 3, 2011 Posted by Ara K. Manoogian at 7:33 pm 1 Response »

Source: Panorama.am (the Armenian version)

Children at Gyumri Orphanage

The Children’s Home is a well-known orphanage throughout the Republic, established in 1924 in Gyumri. The orphanage serves children ages 0-6 years old, who suffer from severe health and development problems. Although, the RA Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Issues, Mr. Filaret Berikyan, assured Panaroma.am that we could visit any orphanage without any difficulty or obstacles, the orphanage deputy director Artur Movsisyan, at first, refused to allow us to enter the orphanage and especially to meet with the children. He, only after seeing the member of the National Assembly and member of the Heritage party, Anahit Bakhshyan, gave the permission to enter the orphanage. We should note that unfortunately, the director of the orphanage, Ruzanna Avagyan was in Yerevan. As a result, we have written this article based solely upon what we have personally seen or was partially presented by the nurses and caregivers. The deputy director, A. Movsisyan, would reply to every question related to documentation, information on the children, and even regarding the number of children who had died in 2010, with “I have been here (only) since September. I do not know”. Continue reading »

U.S. Adoption Agencies Exposed For Child Trafficking From Armenia

Apr 262011

April 26, 2011 Posted by Ara K. Manoogian at 5:20 pm 39 Responses »

Integrity of Foreign Adoptions In Armenia Still In Question

by Emil Danielyan
RFE/Radio Liberty
April 26, 2011

Armenia -- Children at an orphana

What is an informal payment made to an Armenian government official or civil servant performing their duties? Armenia’s Criminal Code defines it as a bribe that could be punishable by a lengthy prison sentence.

Yet some private U.S. agencies arranging international adoptions of children call it a mere “gift of gratitude” that reflects a long-established local custom and is not illegal. They have for years charged clients in the United States thousands of dollars for such payments which they say are necessary for adopting Armenian orphans. Continue reading »