All Armenians around the world helped raise more than 22,661,371 dollars during the annual Telethon with the slogan En Route Artsakh. Telethon 2013 ended with a 16th festive mood and to the sounds of Armenian dance melodies in Los Angeles.

The main goal of this year’s pan-Armenian fundraiser was to build the Vardenis-Martakert Highway, which is a highway that links Armenia to Artsakh and is of strategic, as well as social and economic significance. According to ArmenPress, the Vardenis-Martakert Highway will be 116 km long and will have water disposal systems to protect the road from decaying from rainwater. The slopes of the hills near the road designed for carrying 60 tons of cargo will be fortified. There will be internal and external firewalls.

In one case, those firewalls will be between the cliff and the road to protect the road from falling stones, and in another case-between the road and gorges. There will be 30 villages along the road, and 16 bridges will be built.

The donations made during the fundraiser-banquets, Phone-a-Thons and donations sent by mail prior to the Telethon will also be geared towards the enlargement of agricultural programs in Armenia’s Tavush province, the construction of community centers in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the construction of the Vardenis-Martakert Highway and Armenian schools in Syria.

Last year, “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund raised 21,422,477 dollars (nearly 8.5 billion drams) during the more than 12-hour Telethon held with the slogan “Our Village”.

http://armenpress.am