Yerevan, February 23, 2009 – The Hayastan All Armenian Fund has started construction on a new school in Chartar, a village in Nagorno Karabakh’s Martuni Region. The project, worth about 250 million drams (U.S. $820,000), is sponsored by the fund’s French affiliate.  Much of Chartar’s existing school, built in 1934, was destroyed by heavy Azeri bombardment in 1992. Since then, classes have been taught in an adjacent building. As this smaller structure cannot accommodate all of Chartar’s 116 schoolchildren at once, classes have been run in shifts. Currently the foundations of the new secondary school, named Chartar School #2, are being laid. When completed, the three-story facility will feature 11 classrooms, a clinic, an events hall, a library, a computer lab, and a multifaceted playground. “The Hayastan All Armenian Fund always strives to address the most critical needs of communities in Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia,” said Ara Vardanyan, the fund’s acting executive director. “We launched the Chartar project because a modern school, and one that can accommodate every student with top-notch education, is of utmost importance to the well-being and continued development of the community.” Hayastan All Armenian Fund