Welcome to the official blog for Operation Reconstructing the Future. We are apart of a larger organization called The Hidden Road Initiative. This blog will chronicle the reconstruction project and summer camp we will host in Armenia this July. We will be renovating, furnishing and launching a kindergarten in the village of Tsaghkaber in Armenia, after which we will host a one week summer camp for the village children. You can read all bout our founder Hasmik Baghdasaryan and how her dream of ensuring a brighter future for the children of Armenia became a reality in the following paragraphs.
Originally Published in armenianchronilces.com
Hasmik Baghdasaryan was born and raised in Armenia and moved to the United Sates, along with her family, when she was 12 years old. Her love and passion for her homeland strengthened with each passing year in the United States. In 2009, while attending Ulysses S. Grant High School, Hasmik founded the Armenian Charity Club, an organization aimed at providing elementary students in underprivileged Armenian villages with school supplies and clothing. Soon after her acceptance to UCSB in the Fall of 2011, she became involved in another charity called The Hidden Road Initiative, an organization aimed at connecting roads and bridging the gap between the people of Armenia and the rest of the world through annual summer camps, pen-pal programs, and donations in the form of clothing, shoes, computers, and heaters.
Hasmik’s experiences with the Armenian Charity Club and The Hidden Road Initiative gave her a sense of leadership and an understanding of the world through philanthropy.
During her long awaited visit to Armenia last summer, she decided to further help her homeland after discovering that not much had changed during her nine-year absence.
“If a region in California was destroyed and leveled to the ground by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake, we would hope and expect that within a few years it would be rebuilt and returned to its former state; however, the residents of Tsaghkaber have been living in a half-constructed village because of the Spitak earthquake of 1988 for the past twenty-six years,” says Hasmik.
Tsaghkaber (Flower Bearer) is a village located in northwestern Armenia, where Hasmik spent many of her childhood summers because her grandparents resided there. When asked what her reactions were when she revisited nine years later, she responded:
“I saw aspects of the village that I could never understand as a child. For example the village lacks many facilities, like a functioning kindergarten, making the job of village women increasingly difficult, as most men work abroad during much of the year. During my stay in the village, numerous times I noticed young children sitting in the open fields and spending their day under the hot sun as their mothers worked. When I inquired about the existence of a kindergarten, I was told that a kindergarten building exists, but due to the absence of furniture and supplies, the kindergarten is not functioning.”
Deeply concerned about their situation, Hasmik founded Operation Reconstructing the Future. Her aim is to renovate, furnish, and launch the kindergarten in the village of Tsaghkaber in order to enhance the social capabilities of the village children. Through this endeavor she hopes to empower a new generation of students, support young families, and promote the economy and social equality of the village.
With high hopes and a clear plan in mind, Hasmik applied to the coveted Donald A. Strauss Scholarship Foundation for financial assistance. After months of waiting and a rigorous application process, she was granted a 10,000-dollar public service scholarship to carry out Operation Reconstructing the Future in July of 2014.
“Dorothy M.R. Strauss, established the foundation in January of 1997 as a “tribute to the vision, ideals and leadership of Donald A. Strauss.” In its first year, the foundation board invited 10 universities to nominate up to three students each for Strauss scholarships, with the board making the final selection of the 10 winners. In the second year, the Foundation was able to broaden its reach and award 15 $10,000 scholarships, and now gives 10-15 each year. This represents the Foundation’s 18th group of recipients—since its inception, the Foundation has now awarded more than 240 scholarships—and like their counterparts in the past, all of these new recipients have extensive records of community and public service, as well as a demonstrated desire to make a difference.”
“I’m extremely grateful for the Donald A. Strauss Scholarship Foundation for providing me with the opportunity to carry out this project. The $10,000 will be used for all aspects of the projects including construction, furniture, appliances, books and toys. Along with a one week educational summer camp in the newly launched kindergarten,” says Hasmik.
She is excited about returning to Armenia to carry out this project and is currently building a team with several students from UCLA, UCSB, and several other university students from Yerevan.
Hasmik’s devotion and enthusiasm towards such an important project is commendable and motivational. The 25 kindergarteners in the village of Tsaghkaber will have the opportunity to grow and flourish, because they will have a strong and inspirational foundation that Operation Reconstructing the Future will soon provide. Hasmik Baghdasaryan has taken the initiative to go beyond the usual form of charity by reconstructing, educating, and inspiring the future generation of Armenian children.
Hasmik Baghdasaryan was born and raised in Armenia and moved to the United Sates, along with her family, when she was 12 years old. Her love and passion for her homeland strengthened with each passing year in the United States. In 2009, while attending Ulysses S. Grant High School, Hasmik founded the Armenian Charity Club, an organization aimed at providing elementary students in underprivileged Armenian villages with school supplies and clothing. Soon after her acceptance to UCSB in the Fall of 2011, she became involved in another charity called The Hidden Road Initiative, an organization aimed at connecting roads and bridging the gap between the people of Armenia and the rest of the world through annual summer camps, pen-pal programs, and donations in the form of clothing, shoes, computers, and heaters.
Hasmik’s experiences with the Armenian Charity Club and The Hidden Road Initiative gave her a sense of leadership and an understanding of the world through philanthropy.
During her long awaited visit to Armenia last summer, she decided to further help her homeland after discovering that not much had changed during her nine-year absence.
“If a region in California was destroyed and leveled to the ground by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake, we would hope and expect that within a few years it would be rebuilt and returned to its former state; however, the residents of Tsaghkaber have been living in a half-constructed village because of the Spitak earthquake of 1988 for the past twenty-six years,” says Hasmik.
Tsaghkaber (Flower Bearer) is a village located in northwestern Armenia, where Hasmik spent many of her childhood summers because her grandparents resided there. When asked what her reactions were when she revisited nine years later, she responded:
“I saw aspects of the village that I could never understand as a child. For example the village lacks many facilities, like a functioning kindergarten, making the job of village women increasingly difficult, as most men work abroad during much of the year. During my stay in the village, numerous times I noticed young children sitting in the open fields and spending their day under the hot sun as their mothers worked. When I inquired about the existence of a kindergarten, I was told that a kindergarten building exists, but due to the absence of furniture and supplies, the kindergarten is not functioning.”
Deeply concerned about their situation, Hasmik founded Operation Reconstructing the Future. Her aim is to renovate, furnish, and launch the kindergarten in the village of Tsaghkaber in order to enhance the social capabilities of the village children. Through this endeavor she hopes to empower a new generation of students, support young families, and promote the economy and social equality of the village.
With high hopes and a clear plan in mind, Hasmik applied to the coveted Donald A. Strauss Scholarship Foundation for financial assistance. After months of waiting and a rigorous application process, she was granted a 10,000-dollar public service scholarship to carry out Operation Reconstructing the Future in July of 2014.
“Dorothy M.R. Strauss, established the foundation in January of 1997 as a “tribute to the vision, ideals and leadership of Donald A. Strauss.” In its first year, the foundation board invited 10 universities to nominate up to three students each for Strauss scholarships, with the board making the final selection of the 10 winners. In the second year, the Foundation was able to broaden its reach and award 15 $10,000 scholarships, and now gives 10-15 each year. This represents the Foundation’s 18th group of recipients—since its inception, the Foundation has now awarded more than 240 scholarships—and like their counterparts in the past, all of these new recipients have extensive records of community and public service, as well as a demonstrated desire to make a difference.”
“I’m extremely grateful for the Donald A. Strauss Scholarship Foundation for providing me with the opportunity to carry out this project. The $10,000 will be used for all aspects of the projects including construction, furniture, appliances, books and toys. Along with a one week educational summer camp in the newly launched kindergarten,” says Hasmik.
She is excited about returning to Armenia to carry out this project and is currently building a team with several students from UCLA, UCSB, and several other university students from Yerevan.
Hasmik’s devotion and enthusiasm towards such an important project is commendable and motivational. The 25 kindergarteners in the village of Tsaghkaber will have the opportunity to grow and flourish, because they will have a strong and inspirational foundation that Operation Reconstructing the Future will soon provide. Hasmik Baghdasaryan has taken the initiative to go beyond the usual form of charity by reconstructing, educating, and inspiring the future generation of Armenian children.