The ceremony laying the foundation for construction of the new building of the “Sosseh” Kindergarten of Stepanakert was held under the leadership of Primate of the Artsakh Diocese, Pargev Archbishop Martirosyan on October 11, writes aparaj.am.

The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and member of the ARF-D Artsakh Central Committee Artur Aghabekyan, member of the ARF-D Artsakh Central Committee and head of the “Dashnaktsutyun” faction of the National Assembly David Ishkhanyan, Deputy Speaker of the NKR National Assembly and member of the ARF-D Artsakh Central Committee Vahram Balayan, NKR Minister of Education, Science and Sport Slava Asryan, NKR Minister of Urban Development Karen Shahramanyan, other state officials, as well as members of the Armenian Relief Society from different countries around the world.

In her speech, former Chairwoman of the ARS Central Committee Vickie Marashlian mentioned that the “Sosseh” Kindergarten of Stepanakert was the first kindergarten established by the ARS in 1998.

“The kindergarten was established on the days following the liberation and must live on for hundreds of years with its strong foundations. In the aftermath of the war, the Armenian Relief Society was present in Artsakh. We came and established our kindergartens with the intention to educate a new generation, our future soldiers and commanders. The children with this future encourage us to advance our efforts. We 15,000 members of the ARS stand like soldiers and are ready to do everything we can to support Artsakh and the people of Artsakh,” Vickie Marashlian said. Marashlian expressed gratitude to NKR Deputy Prime Minister and member of the ARF-D Central Committee Artur Aghabekyan for providing assistance in implementing the kindergarten construction program.

Nella Ghulyan, who has been the director of the “Sosseh” Kindergarten of Stepanakert since its establishment, expressed her deep gratitude to those who had helped rebuild the kindergarten.

“Over the years, we have educated and raised more than 200 children, and we’re certain that we’ll receive thousands of more children to raise and educate them in the right way. The new building will fall in line with modern conditions. It will provide us with the opportunity to raise 120-50 children. We’ll cordially continue to do what we started in the aftermath of the Arstakh war.”

Let us mention that the old building of the kindergarten collapsed in August 2015. Construction was launched immediately and will end in May 2017.