The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is putting the finishing touches on a new school it is building in Chapar, a village in Artsakh’s Martakert Region. The project was made possible by the financial support of the Armenia-based businessman Varuzhan Grigoryan. It is co-financed by the Nagorno-Karabakh government.

The two-story campus, which can accommodate up to 84 students, will open its doors by the summer of 2014 so that the community’s 40 schoolchildren will start the new academic year in the newly constructed structure.  

School principal Irina Sevumyan said that her students often participate in scholastic competitions in Armenia and Artsakh, as a rule excelling at them. “Without a doubt, the pleasant and nurturing environment of the new campus will contribute to the enthusiasm of our schoolchildren and foster academic achievement,” Sevumyan said. “It remains to hope that we will have a larger number of students in the coming years.” 

Currently crews are working on the interior decoration of the new school. The 940-square-meter building will be equipped with a central-heating system, complete with an adjacent boiler room, and will feature a playground. 

With a population of 305, Chapar is one of Artsakh’s oldest communities, celebrated for historic landmarks such as the Hakarakaberd Castle and the Red Church. The village is the site of another project implemented by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, a four-kilometer water pipeline completed in 2012, which has since provided the community with regular access to potable water.