The Facts About Armenia

An accurate description of Armenia begins by distinguishing between its ancestral boundaries and today's Republic. Armenia today is an independent state, located between the Black and Caspian Seas in an area referred geographically as the Caucasus. It is bordered by Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Iran to the south, and Turkey to the west. Slightly smaller than the state of Maryland, its population has been estimated at approximately three million. Armenia, the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion, is predominantly Orthodox.



Although its origins go back 3000 years, we review Armenia's history only from 1988, when a massive earthquake devastated Spitak and severely damaged present day Gyumri. The death toll numbered in the thousands, with the government overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the disaster. Humanitarian relief from both the Armenian Diaspora and the international community alleviated much of the suffering. Reconstruction, however, was halted on September 21, 1991, when Soviet Armenia declared its independence from the disintegrating USSR. Despite herculean efforts to transform its economy to the private sector, the political, social, and economic disruption, coupled with the aftermath of the earthquake, produced an exponential increase in the number of orphans and abandoned children.

Crippled by an illegal blockade by the Republic of Turkey and confronted by a hostile neighbor - Azerbaijan - resources allocated for the care of Armenia's most susceptible were scarce. Since obtaining its independence 20 years ago, Armenia has begun to repair its infrastructure and finance its social obligations. Until the Republic can coexist with its neighbors and stabilize its political, economic, and social sectors, however, assistance will be required. We created SOAR to contribute to these rebuilding efforts, focusing on what we believe to be the most vulnerable of the youthful Armenian populations.