Dental Care for 235 orphans in Armenia

SOAR Dental Giving Campaign    

Global Giving Representatives Visit OLA Dental Clinic, Gyumri, Armenia – July 2016!

Submitted by Kohar Mardirossian Pelter and George S. Yacoubian, Jr.

On July 30, 2016, the Our Lady of Armenia Center Dental Clinic in Gyumri, Armenia, welcomed two Global Giving directors toured the facilities with SOAR representatives. Their mission was to build stronger relationships between Global Giving and SOAR as one of Global Giving’s nonprofit partners.

Both directors were received by SOAR Representatives in Armenia who toured with them at the newly built dental clinic on the premises of Our Lady of Armenia orphanage. The representatives showed great appreciation and were impressed with the high quality of the construction of the clinic and the dental equipment with which the clinic was furnished. They also inquired about the clinic’s future needs for technical, material and medication support as well as for personnel staffing and continued provision of the dental supplies. They also explained that the professional personnel staffing, which will consist of a dentist, dental assistant and dental service administrator, were already in place. In addition, she explained how the dental clinic will be staffed to provide a comprehensive coverage of the dental care for the children, elderly and entire population of Gyumri.

On March, 2016, OLA held its much anticipated SOAR Dental Clinic’s grand opening to benefit the orphaned children and the elderly in Gyumri. During the ceremony, Diramyr Arousiag Sajonian welcomed several dignitaries from Gyumri, accompanied by SOAR supporters, junior members and representatives from Armenia and USA.  Currently, the licensure of the clinic by the Health Ministry and other official regulatory bodies is pending and it is anticipated to be finalized by October 10, 2016.

Thanks to the unwavering diligence and combined efforts of SOAR-National, the Gulamerian Armenian Orphan Fund, the Albert Tamberchi Foundation, La Canada, Ventura County, Wisconsin and Chicago SOAR chapters, and more significantly individual donors who contributed to this project through Global Giving, our dream for providing dental care to the orphans and elderly of Gyumri came true! The dental clinic will offer full services and provide dental care free of charge to the underprivileged population of Gyumri.

The representatives later visited the city of Gyumri and inquired about the existence of other dental care services in the city. They also inquired whether SOAR is planning to start the construction of other dental clinics in different regions of Armenia.

Now, we have the task at hand to fund the operational cost, supplies and salaries of the dentists and technicians who will work in Gyumri's dental clinic. We also are starting to plan for the construction of SOAR's second dental clinic in another region of Armenia with populations in desperate need for dental care.

You can help us achieve the impossible! No amount is too little to make a contribution to the project!!! We appreciate and welcome your support in any amount you are able to contribute towards fulfilling the full operation of the clinic as well as the building of a new one.

Thank you all for providing this unparalleled gift for the orphaned children and Armenia’s needy and destitute at large. Please donate through Global Giving’s Dental Care for Orphans campaign!!! To join our efforts in supporting the Dental Care Campaign whether monetary or volunteer support, please contact info@soar-us.org.

http://soar-us.org/dental_fund.html#dentalopening

Links:

• SOAR Dental Clinic on OLA Orphanage Grounds