When I was little, every Christmas I would get the same thing in my stocking: a headlight so I could read in bed late into the night. While everyone else was sleeping, I would stay up for hours, immersed in books. By the time Christmas rolled around, I had used my night light so much that I needed a new one. The local library became my place to escape to – a home away from home for me that I shared with so many others whose stories lived on the library’s shelves.

Bringing NGOs and Donors Closer Together

The Civilitas Foundation has initiated a program called A Guide to Non-Governmental Organizations. The program has several objectives, including creating a mechanism for potential donors to identify possible CSO partners.

According to different sources, there are 3,000 to 5,000 CSOs operating in Armenia. Yet, it is possible to find accurate and updated information for only a fraction.

With the objective of closing this gap, Civilitas has sent a questionnaire to several hundred active Armenian CSOs. Approximately 100 have responded and will be included in a website devoted specifically to CSO activity. Those CSOs who wish to be included in can submit their information.

The website will offer general information about CSOs: the name of the CSO and its director; the organization’s contact information; the type of work they do; the main areas of operation and descriptions of specific projects. The CSO guide will be updated by participant CSOs themselves.

Fifteen-year-old Julietta Movsisian will no longer huddle over her books in the cold, since next winter the library in the city of Charentsavan will have heating and proper conditions, just like those in the rest of the world.

“Most of my classmates use this library because here you can find many of the books recommended by our teachers but not found in the school library.  I go to the library four times a month. Right now, I’m reading about the life of Nerses Shnorhali. I use the encyclopedia a lot,” says tenth-grader Julietta.

This year, with funds from the US Embassy, the Civilitas Foundation completed its project to partially renovate 10 libraries in the Armenian provinces and stock them with new books so that they will serve as centers for civil society as well as discussion centers.