InternationalA gift of hope and love
Kach Nazar Telethon raises close to $88,000 for orphaned and disabled children in Armenia
Published: Friday November 07, 2008
Organizers of the Kach Nazar Telethon, which took place on November 2.
Glendale, Calif. - With the holiday season looming on the horizon, the ninth annual Kach Nazar Telethon, held on November 2, is igniting the spirit of Christmas and hope within the hearts of disadvantaged children in Armenia by sparking a campaign of giving among community members in Los Angeles.
While many of us live in a culture of excess inundated by materialism and comfort, the disabled and orphaned children of Armenia consider a roof, a warm meal, and tender loving arms precious commodities. A dedicating to helping ensure these basic needs lies at the heart of the Kach Nazar Telethon.
Ever since 1999, the year it was established, the Kach Nazar Christmas fund has provided the underprivileged children of Armenia with gifts.
The call to action for founder Ovanes Balayan came when the president of Yerevan's State Philharmonic Orchestra, Laert Movsisian, approached him about raising funds to purchase gifts and organize a series of holiday concerts for children living in orphanages.
That first year, Balayan managed to collect $18,000 - a notable accomplishment, considering that it was a one-man operation at the time.
Balayan recalls that he sat down and spent two or three hours a day calling individuals in the hopes of raising funds. That grassroots effort has now blossomed into the Kach Nazar Telethon, an annual program that has, over the course of eight years, reached 115,000 kids.
"Our main associates in Armenia are the Philharmonic and Laert Movsisian," says Balayan when I ask him about who has oversight over the funds once they reach Armenia.
Balayan's crusade seems to have tugged at the heart strings of the Armenian community. The telethon enjoys the support of numerous volunteers, project advisors, and a long list of prominent local professionals, businesses, and cultural organizations including Glendale Kia, Glendale West Pharmacy and Medical Supply, Universal Service Exchange, Commerce Casino, the Unified Young Armenians, and Nor Serount, among many others.
Today, while teenage volunteers work the phones in the background, organizers and hosts work in front of the cameras, providing stories from the field and situation reports, making appeals for help, and acknowledging supporters. The only thing that breaks their concentration is an eruption of loud cheers and applause at the announcement that a $5,000 pledge has just been received.
The mood is light, but everyone grasps the significance of the work being performed here.
The fruit of all this labor, the much-awaited figure raised during the almost nine-hour telethon, is close to $88,000.
For the children
Vardan Ghukasyan, director of the program that organizes holiday festivities for the children in Armenia, offers an account of the changes taking place in the orphanages because of the telethon.
"The children leave that concert with twinkling eyes after receiving their Christmas presents," he says. "These children receive emotional nourishment from this. The majority of these children are sick, so their greatest joy occurs during these Christmas celebrations."
Ghukasyan, who has been involved in the program for the past four years, continues: "Working with these children, I fell in love with the happiness and sparkle in their eyes. You bond with them and can't tear yourself away."
The telethon has brought together many segments of the Glendale and larger Los Angeles communities, including residents, entertainers, and city officials.
"I come every year to support and bring my check," says Glendale City Councilman Frank Quintero. "I hope everyone will help that beautiful country and those beautiful children."
While many prominent speakers take the floor on behalf of these voiceless children, it appears that the children are their own best spokespersons. Video clips of disabled and disadvantaged children were broadcast throughout the evening, depicting images not only of great need, but also of powerful resilience, intense joy, and unforgettable courage.
Today hundreds of children who live a world away from Armenia and the devastating conditions in which their orphaned and disabled peers live will walk into the studio or call the telethon to contribute to their welfare. Many of these youths, who have been raised in the diaspora, cannot even envision the hardships and deprivation that plague children in Armenian. Yet a cultural bond and a desire to help are enough to mobilize them.
"I do this for the orphans in Armenia," says phone-bank volunteer Susie Akhverdyan in between answering phones.
For the organizers, volunteers, and donors of this telethon, it's as simple as that. Their only agenda is to bring a smile to the faces of thousands of Armenian children dealt a cruel hand by life.
As for Balayan, his involvement is grounded in his personal belief that the diaspora has a singular responsibility to help strengthen the homeland financially and socially.
"I see the diaspora and the homeland as being equally important to us," he says. "We complement one another. We are the same people, but due to circumstances of destiny, we have been divided."
From December 25 until January 15, volunteers will distribute the gifts, purchased with funds raised during the telethon, to the children in Armenia during a series of holiday celebrations. The gift-giving and festivities will commence at the Hamalir in Yerevan, which has proven to be a cost-effective venue because it can accommodate up to 12,000 children. The celebrations will then circulate among 50 orphanages and schools in surrounding areas, where thousands of children are expected to gather for concerts and a much-awaited visit from Santa.
Last Christmas, 160 children from Shushi, eager to take part in the New Year's celebrations, were bussed in. Balayan hopes that this year will be no different.
