On Thursday May 18, 2023, the Educational Committee of the Crescenta Valley Meher & Satig Der Ohanessian Youth Center will host a lecture on the “Strengthening the Armenian Village Through Deep Engagement”, presented by Aida and Asbed Pogharians.The presentation will begin at 7:30pm Pacific Time at Crescenta Valley Youth Center (2633 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA. 91020).
Aida and Asbed are a diasporan couple who will share their experiences in bringing about positive change in the village of Gosh in Armenia. Concerned about emigration and the decline of population in rural regions, the couple decided to adopt a village, live there, study the problems from within and work with the villagers to come up with solutions. In 2019, they toured Armenia for a month, selected Gosh in the mountains of Dilijan and bought a house there. Through power point presentation, they will talk about the numerous projects they have accomplished so far and their impacts on the village. Strong villages are a requirement for a strong and prosperous Armenia and the couple are proving that diasporans are ideally suited in bringing that positive change.
Aida was born in Iran and Asbed in Ethiopia. They met at the Melkonian Educational Institute in Cyprus as teenage students and later married. After graduating from Melkonian, Aida studied at Yerevan State University and Asbed at Swarthmore College in Philadelphia. The couple have lived in Los Angeles since 1988. They now split their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Gosh.
The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session. Please reserve the date and time by attending the meeting.
