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| Volunteers against Poverty |
HDP FOUNDATION is a volunteer-based organization and cherishes
volunteerism in Armenia. We believe that "Charity begins at home".
Our beneficiaries include nursing homes, orphanages, street
children programs, kindergartens, etc. We seek to not only feed people but
more importantly, provide food for their minds and souls through education
and respect...
In an economically volatile society people don’t always find
the enthusiasm or incentive to volunteer, and it is important to educate people
in volunteerism and encourage them do something they have not considered before.
Volunteers can acquire lots of alternative learning opportunities through
Internet, managing small projects, etc.
HDP principals are from US, Canada, and Armenia. HDP’s executive
director is Nubar Goudsouzian from Canada, finance director is Dr. David L.
Watt from the US. We also have several volunteers in the HDP office.
Levon works on computers to make them compatible; Narine and
Ruzan coordinate different programs(Volunteers, Computers to Rural areas,
Gumri Pen-Pal, etc.).
Many individuals have volunteered their time and talents on
shorter term basis. From 2002 until the present, volunteers have sold over
600 hand made cards from Zatik Orphanage, raising more than $1,000 for the
children of the orphanage and its associated Rainbow House. In 2003 many individuals
came to HDP to assemble bags of vegetable seeds for the rural vulnerable of
Armenia. They assembled and delivered over 1600 bags to people in all regions.
In particular, after the devastating hail in Hrazdan in May, volunteers assembled
and delivered 750 bags to the 7 villages of Hrazdan. In the summer and fall
of 2003, volunteers delivered hygiene kits, blankets, clothing, dried fruit
and raisins to nursing homes, orphanages, kindergartens and refugees. In February
and March 2004, a group of volunteers sorted more than 5 tons of vegetable
sed packets from UMCOR’s supply of 18 tons of donated seeds. In April and
May, HDP volunteers assembled bags and delivered them to over 2200 of Armenia’s
neediest rural families, using just 1 ton of the sorted seeds. If all the
seed was distributed similarly, almost 40,000 families received seed from
the distribution this year.
Armenian Red Cross school children volunteers (in the picture
Red Cross 004) helped us sort the seeds. We rewarded UMCOR – provided school
and hygiene kits to our volunteers to recognize their care.
 Jim Kennard,
President of the “Food For Everyone” Foundation (FFE) in the US, volunteered
to come to Armenia, with helping VOCA, to help Armenian families with small
plots of land achieve food security by increasing their capacity to produce
adequate healthy food to eat, and to ultimately provide a source of income
from sales of excess garden produce. He also volunteered training a family
in seedling production at an existing seedling greenhouse in the Shirak region,
and provide seedlings for beneficiary families, and training 64 beneficiary
families in 8 villages on how to most effectively grow high yields of vegetables
using the world-renowned Mittleider Method of gardening.
 Jim brought
with him, donations of tools and materials for effective gardening and the
growing of seedlings. He built a seedling house in Shirak Marz at his own
expense and began working with two supervisor families in each village, demonstrating
and teaching them the best techniques for building and growing their own gardens,
and with them visiting all other participant families in their villages to
do the same. Physical garden layouts were improved, watering problems solved
and better procedures taught, and seedlings for training purpose were purchased
from local sources and proper transplanting procedures were demonstrated and
taught to all participants.
A highly respected Armenian agronomist was trained to continue
the activity. A formalized plan of procedures was implemented to assure regular
follow-up and assistance; In addition, several comparative test plots were
established to measure the effectiveness of the Mittleider Methods being introduced
as compared with participants’ traditional methods. The results of these comparatives
tests will be finalized and available at the end of the growing season, or
early November.
 The short-term
result of our efforts became apparent very quickly, as families began to see
order, beauty, and productivity in their gardens, and non-participating neighbors
began copying elements of the methods they saw.
One important element we addressed is growing vertically,
which allows plants normally occupying 5-10 square feet to be grown in 1-2
square feet of space. To accomplish this requires the use of frames and string
for the plants to climb. No provision had been made for demonstrating this
important element to the participants.
A small quantity of “T-Frames” and heavy nylon or plastic
string were purchased and used as educational material. Metal T-Frame materials
were purchased and welded, and frames were delivered to 3 representative and
strategically located participants’ gardens, where their benefits can best
be demonstrated and proper procedures taught.
More support is needed to learn this technology, use it and
teach it to others. In this, the volunteer would receive the benefit of learning,
living better and having more nutritious food. If you want to learn about
this program or help it grow and expand, contact HDP Foundation.
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