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Pyunic Association for the Disabled
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Pyunic was founded in 1989 to help children disabled by
the 1988 earthquake. Pyunic has been able to serve
Armenians with disabilities through the generous financial
support of individuals like you.
The original group of children aided by Pyunic are now
between the ages of 12 to their twenties. As they grow
older, their needs as disabled individuals change and so
does the work of Pyunic. These children and adults plus
the new generation of those disabled through the Karabakh
war, birth defects, diseases, and accidents need Pyunic to
work to improve and develop opportunities for them to
become full-fledged, participating and contributing
members of the new Armenia.
Pyunic needs your help to continue its work to expand
its range of services and programs to enable the disabled
in Armenia to develop to their fullest potential and in
turn help Armenia develop as a new nation.
July 18, 1998 marked the day when the Government of
Armenia officially gave Pyunic a 32,000 sq. ft., four
story building to serve as its future center to provide an
array of services and programs to the disabled of Armenia.
The building is located in the central part of Yerevan,
next door to both the Hrazdan Stadium (where the national
soccer team plays) and the National Tennis Stadium. The
building is also located a few hundred yards down the hill
from the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial.
The building was given to Pyunic because of its proven
record of providing services to the disabled and making a
quality difference in their lives. Discussions about a new
Pyunic location began during the Fall of 1997 with then
Prime Minister Robert Kocharian. He had become acquainted
with Pyunic’s work during his visit to the Pyunic 1997
summer camp at Lake Sevan. During a later meeting with
Pyunic’s staff, Kocharian promised that he would find a
more appropriate location for Pyunic.
On July 19, 1998, when Kocharian, now president, came
to officially open Pyunic’s 1998 summer camp, he brought
with him the signed title and deed to the building for
Pyunic. Kocharian was also the official financial
supporter of the 1998 summer camp through a $10,000
donation from his left-over presidential campaign funds.
The future Pyunic Center for the Disabled presents all
Pyunic supporters with an opportunity and challenge. It
will be an opportunity for Pyunic to broaden its scope of
services and to have a location that will be accessible to
all disabled individuals.
The challenge comes about because the building needs
major remodeling to make it useable and accessible. When
it was built in the mid-1980s, it was intended to be a
rehabilitation center for disabled children. However, the
building’s construction was never completed on the inside
and it was never made accessible for the disabled. Also,
over the years the building has been vandalized and
materials stolen. Hence, the need for major construction,
both inside and outside.
Pyunic has begun a large-scale fundraising campaign in
1999 to secure the funds to make the center a reality.
Pyunic has worked with architects and construction experts
to determine what needs to be done to remodel the building
so that it will become the Center for the Disabled.
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