support for Lord Byron school in Gyumri‏

Good afternoon all,
I trust you will not object if I ask that you read Kathy Leach's latest letter relative the efforts being applied to the re-heating of the Lord Byron School. As you are doubtless aware I have tackled all our previous ambassadors in my own efforts to seek help but with little success, however,our new husband and wife team have taken on the task with a level of determination that is admirable. It may well be that this letter has already passed your desks but if it has not can I ask if you will circulate it amongst the British Armenian community and who knows, such action may add some much needed funds to the £25,000 required to secure a heating system that will afford both children and their parents an environment suited to educating at the highest level. My January visit this year was more akin to visiting a Polar expedition than a school, children being taught whilst wearing hats, coats and gloves was almost beyond belief.

I hope you can assist by informing as many folk as you are able.

Kind regards,

David

 

LORD BYRON SCHOOL - GYUMRI

 

I am writing to tell you about a project which I very much hope may interest you.  You may already know about the Lord Byron School, the brilliant modern building donated to the children of Gyumri by the British people following the 1988 earthquake.

 

The school was built at the initiative of our then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and funded by donations from government, business and generous individuals.   Baroness Thatcher came to Armenia in June 1990 to open the school herself.   It was a wonderful gift to the people of Gyumri during their most desperate days. The innovative building included solar panels to power computers and a computerised brain to control the heating.   The design was carefully thought through to provide large covered atriums for children to exercise in during the winter and it remains a fantastic, unique building.    

 

Unfortunately, however, the heating system proved too complex and expensive to maintain and run in newly independent Armenia.  Despite the school’s many efforts, the heating has now not worked properly for sixteen years and we judge it beyond economic repair.  During winter the children now sit in coats, hats and gloves with expensive, inefficient portable electric fires heating the classrooms.  Without heating, the water is switched off in winter to prevent it freezing and then bursting the pipes in spring. The school is now the only one in the Shirak region without running water during winter and the only one in that district without adequate heating.     

 

As the British Ambassador to Armenia, I feel a sense of responsibility for the future of the school.  Despite its wonderful facilities and reputation for English teaching, it is in danger of being closed this winter as parents transfer their children to schools with warm classrooms.

 

I have therefore started a fundraising campaign to raise the money to install a simple and economical new heating system this summer. I am sure that you appreciate the key importance of a good education and great English language teaching for Armenia's next generation, particularly in a town still suffering from the devastation of 1988 and the economic collapse of the 1990s.   I hope you will also appreciate the value the school has as a unique example of Armenian-British friendship.  Above all, I hope that you will care as much as I do that this gift from the British people should not be wasted, but rather invested in to secure its future and lasting value for the children of Gyumri.    

 

To help the school, you can:

- make a direct donation to the heating project fund, being run by the Tekeyan Centre on behalf of the Embassy (please see attached leaflet in English or contact tcenter@arminco.com).   I am enormously grateful for the donations received so far.  Even the smallest donation will be welcome.  If just 500 people donate £25, we will reach our target. 

 

- make a direct donation to the school itself, either in cash or in kind (e.g. equipment, books, computers, items suitable for a raffle etc).  Please contact Nune Hovsepyan if you would be interested in doing this (nune.hovsepyan@fco.gov.uk).

 

You may also be interested in a recent internet article about the school (http://armenianow.com/society/features/44043/byron_school_gyumri_tekeyan_center_british_ambassadorsinterview) and an interview I did recently with David Dowell (whose company put the roof on the building) is now on our website (http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/ukinarmenia/2013/03/15/interview-with-david-dowell-good-friend-of-armenia/).    

 

Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me directly at kathy.leach@fco.gov.uk if you would like any more information or if you have an idea about how best to help the school.  

 

With thanks in advance

 

 

Kathy Leach