LCO attracts 37 volunteers to its 2010 Armenia campaign

Published: Wednesday August 18, 2010

Volunteers and local children at work in Yeghvard.

Shirakamut, Lori Province, Armenia - The Land and Culture Organization (LCO-USA), Organisation Terre et Culture (OTC-France) and Yerkir Yev Mshakuit-Armenia annual summer campaign is in full swing.

During the months of July and August 37 dedicated volunteers from Armenia, Canada, England, France, Syria, and the United States have been hard at work restoring two churches.

This summer, LCO is restoring the 17th Century Sourp Astvatzatzin Church in Yeghvard village in the southern Syunik province on the border of Armenia and the liberated areas surrounding Artsakh.

This renovation project began in 2007 and will continue until its completion in 2011. Volunteers have been restoring the interior of the church and its altar, as well as clearing around its exterior and digging out khatchkars (cross-stones) and memorials on the church premises. As with many churches throughout Armenia, these religious sites had been closed and neglected during the Soviet period.

The second site is the Tchitchkhanavank Monastery in Shirakamut village in the northern Lori Province near Spitak.

Tchitchkhanavank was built on the plan of a Christian cross, typical of Armenian churches in the sixth and seventh centuries. This church was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1926, neglected during the Soviet era, and suffered more destruction in the 1988 earthquake.

In 2008 and 2009, LCO began archaeological excavations, which revealed the church's foundation along with ancient tombstones and objects of archaeological interest. This summer, volunteers began renovation and construction of foundation walls of the church.

Historical experts, skilled craftsmen, and LCO Board Members are overseeing both restorations.

This has not been the typical Armenia vacation for the volunteers from the Diaspora and Yerevan or a quiet summer for local residents. Volunteers have been living in villages and experiencing the sites and sounds of farm life.

This has given all of them an appreciation of the challenges and joys that remote Armenian villages and their residents face. The volunteers have personally become more enriched having had the opportunity to participate in preserving the Armenian heritage and living among the people of Armenia.

Villagers in turn are moved that Armenian youth from the Diaspora have given their time and dedication to a project off the beaten path where they do not have any personal connections, except for being Armenian and wanting to give back to their ancestral nation. The village children especially become energized and excited assisting the volunteers in the work and inviting them to play.

LCO-USA President Haig Manjikian reflected, "Armenia and the Diaspora are a family tree with Armenia being our roots and the Spiurk its leaves. Both are equally important and need to be nurtured. If together, we care for the roots, the tree can survive."

Aside from bonding with the land and locals, volunteers have also been touring historical sites throughout Armenia and Karabakh. On weekends, they have enjoyed excursions to Khor Virab, Zorats Karer/Karahunj, Noravank, Vahanavank, Hovanavank, the regional capital city of Kapan, and other Armenia landmarks restored by LCO such as the Tatev Monastery and Saghmosavank.

In Karabakh, they visited the cities of Shushi and Stepanakert, as well as previous LCO/OTC renovation projects of the community center and schoolhouse of Karintak and the entire third floor and operating rooms of the Shushi Central Regional Hospital. The village of Karintak played a pivotal role in the securing of Shushi, and the hospital has been serving the health needs of the residents of the region.

In addition, LCO Board Members have been actively searching prospective sites for upcoming campaigns.

Besides the Yeghvard and Shirakamut sites, OTC is participating in a joint venture project with the sister cities of Vienne, France and Goris, Armenia renovating the 7th Century Sourp Hripsime Church near the pagan era caves in Old Goris.

An additional 23 Armenian and non-Armenian volunteers from the Vienne community have committed themselves to this project.

For over 30 years, LCO has been one of the earliest volunteers groups in Armenia and Karabakh working to restore, renovate, and rejuvenate the historical monuments and sites of our nation. It has performed this mission through its summer campaigns, by volunteers of every age from the Diaspora and Armenia. To help our mission or join in our summer volunteer program, you may reach us at www.lcousa.org.