YEREVAN, June 30. / ARKA /. ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK, the Hayastan Pan-Armenian Fund and World Vision Armenia charity organization have signed today a tripartite cooperation agreement as part of a three-year charitable and educational program designed for children from the children’s home in Gavar (Gegharkunik region), worth 41 million drams.
“This new and interesting program will help the children get in-depth knowledge in general and special subjects that will give them an opportunity to continue their education at Armenian universities,” said ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK CEO Hakob Andreasyan.
The program will embrace about 90 children aged 9-18. Apart from in-depth teaching of general school subjects that will help graduates to pass university entrance exams, the educational center will also offer hairdressing, sewing, shoemaking and other training lessons.
Andreasyan noted that the program is interesting because its participants are the bank’s clients, in particular Visa cardholders, who contribute to the program by using their cards to make payments.
ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK has already issued 19 thousand Visa Barerar (Philanthropist) cards, and 0.3% of all transactions made by using these cards as well as 50% of the cost of their service will be transferred to the program’s fund.
Andreasyan said also that the bank is ready to pay the tuition fee of those children who will choose to become economist as well as to hire them upon graduation if they have such desire.
Ara Vardanyan, the Executive Director of Hayastan Fund, urged other companies to follow ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK’s suit and donate part of their profits to charities.
In turn, World Vision Armenia head Zhirair Edilyan noted that this program is designed for children from the most vulnerable social strata of Armenia.
He said children’s homes and special educational institutions are home today to more than 5,000 children, who according to various estimates are from the most vulnerable layers of the population.
According to him, about 80% of these children are institutionalized due to social conditions as their parents can not give them an education and ensure other necessary conditions choosing instead to send them to children homes.
CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK (formerly the Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Armenia, ACBA) was established in 1995 as part of the EU TACIS program. In September 2006, the French banking group Credit Agricole became its largest shareholder.
The bank’s assets on April 1, 2014 amounted to 264.6 billion drams ($640.2 million), credit investments stood at 178 billion drams ($430.6 million), equity capital – at 53 billion drams ($128.2 million), the amount of deposits stood at 109.6 billion drams ($265.1 million). The bank runs now 49 branches across the country. ($1 – 407.28 drams). -0-
