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AMAA Armenia

The Footprints of

a 30-Year Journey

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people.
Psalm 113: 7-8
By Harout Nercessian*
1. The Journey Susan is a happily employed, attractive, Education and Income
In 1991, the Armenian Missionary As- young woman. With help from the AMAA, Material aid provides much needed,
sociation of America embarked on a faith she moved her family into a clean apartment. short-term, emergency aid. Yet, the best gift
journey of Christian outreach in the newly Her mother no longer needs to work. one can give a child is quality education,
independent Fatherland. Armenia was During its 30-year existence, AMAA while the ultimate act of kindness to an adult
trying to establish its independence while Armenia has strived to fulfill God’s mission is assistance toward financial independence.
recovering from the devastating earthquake, on earth, best illustrated in Psalm 113, "He These improve lives for the long haul,
surviving an economic collapse, and wag- raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the breaking the cycle of poverty and restoring
ing war for the independence of Karabagh. needy from the ash heap; he seats them with human dignity.
Those were the "dark years," when bread, princes, with the princes of his people." The Khoren and Shooshanig Avedisian
fuel, electricity and most other life necessi- As AMAA Executive Director/CEO, School and Community Center exists to pro-
ties were scarcities. Zaven Khanjian often says, "AMAA invests vide low-income children with high-quality,
None of the AMAA visionaries at that in people," especially children. tuition-free education toward a bright future.
time could predict where this journey would The School is housed in a state-of-the art,
lead. There were no road signs. No maps. 2. The Legacy environmentally friendly facility, fully
Actually, no road to follow whatsoever and The Footprints equipped with high-tech equipment and
no preceding pioneers. The weather was I frequently visit our mission centers in various laboratories. This K-12 School pro-
damp and foggy with very poor visibility. Armenia and Artsakh. My trips never fail to vides both academic and life-skills education
This was a faith journey where you plan as remind me of the tens of thousands of people based on faith in God. It instills Christian
you go along. AMAA was trailblazing and who over the last 30 years have been touched values to carry its students triumphantly
leaving fresh footprints on the landscape. by God through the AMAA. through the multitudes of life challenges and
The immediate concern was to alleviate temptations. The School’s supporting atmo-
Despite the bad hand dealt to them
the socio-economic pain gripping the nation. by life, these people, who populate the sphere builds self-confidence, enabling them
God led this organization to realize His to climb the highest peaks of achievement.
purposes to heal the sick, feed the hungry, footprints left behind by AMAA’s 3-decade The School builds character to help students
journey, have beaten the odds to grow into
and, most important of all, to give the hope- productive citizens living fulfilling lives. become diligent, persistent, resilient and,
less the courage to dream of a bright future. The Apostle Paul illustrates the impact most importantly, to remain humble as they
AMAA’s 30-year journey can best be seen of his work among the Corinthian Christians climb the social ladder.
in the lives impacted by its caring service, with the metaphor of a letter "written
fueled by Christian love. on our hearts, known and read by ev-
Susan (not her real name) was a shy
and understandably friendless little girl who eryone." Paul’s legacy, the footprints
of his labor, was the transformed
lived with her mother and infant brother. Her lives of these Christians. We certainly
mother earned a below-poverty income by share the Apostle’s sentiments.
cleaning streets and collecting residential
garbage. They lived in a multi-purpose, Material Aid
non-sanitary room provided by the waste We provide much needed mate-
management company, which employed the rial assistance such as financial aid,
mother. The multi-purpose room served as infant formula, warm clothing, and
bedroom, kitchen, dining room, bathroom hot meals to the needy. Sick people
and more… Susan grew up fatherless. receive medical attention. We thank
Susan did not enjoy a happy childhood, God for granting us the will and the
yet her enrollment in one of AMAA’s pro- means to help the destitute. We con-
grams changed all that. Our professional sider our outreach to the underserved
staff worked with her for many years. Today, to be service to Jesus Himself. KG children symbolizing raising and developing talent.

10 | AMAA NEWS, July-Aug-Sept 2021