Raising awareness about the expansion of the Community Development Program

The JMP–L Community Development staff and Core Committee met with community members on January 30, 2009, at 7:30 p.m., to inform residents about the program and the move of its offices to New Marash. The meeting was held at the Pagour Aghasarkissian hall of the St. Sarkis Church in New Sis.

Taline Ladoyan, Community Development Program team leader

On behalf of the Community Development Program Core Committee, Aline Manjikian addressed attendees, noting that this meeting was going to be followed by similar meetings to stay continuously connected with the residents and inform them regularly about the activities of the committee throughout the year.

Afterwards, a DVD (prepared by the Community Development team) was shown, presenting the community development activities in the past year.

Taline Ladoyan, who spoke on behalf of the Community Development staff, said the program’s offices would soon be moving to New Marash, in the extension to the JMP–L main offices. The program will expand its scope, offering services to the entire Armenian community, and not staying limited in the area of the Bourj Hammoud municipal residential buildings. Ladoyan added that the weekly meetings of the Core Committee members of the area of the municipal residential buildings will continue, and the office in that area (on the ground floor of the Vartan Jinishian Building) will not close. In that area, the Community Development Program will conduct activities through the local committee.

A Q&A session followed Ladoyan’s speech.

The last speaker was Maria Dekermenjian, a Community Development staff member, who stressed that the cooperative relation between the staff and the residents, as well as the activities in the municipal residential buildings area, will not cease thanks to the committee.