Zera Construction Disassembles Playgrounds for Armenian Relief Mission
In 2004, the Chicago suburb of Northbrook purchased a new playground for the village green to replace one that was somewhat dated. Rather than seeing it thrown into a landfill, Zera Construction worked with Dr. Stephen Kashian, founder of the Armenian Relief Mission (ARM), to disassemble the playground so that it could be shipped to orphaned children in Armenia. In the Fall of 2008, Zera and ARM followed up the Northbrook project by disassembling another playground in Wilmette.
A former Soviet republic, Armenia borders Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north. An earthquake in 1988 left up to 75,000 people dead and 500,000 homeless, and much of the aftermath still plagues the country. To this day, many people still live in shipping crates initially sent to Armenia carrying supplies following the earthquake. Armenia's economy was further devastated when the Soviet Union pulled out with much of the country's industry in 1991.
Dr. Kashian is half Armenian and a physician and internist at Evanston Hospital. Together with his Armenian-born wife Rozik, Dr. Kashian runs the medical and social outreach charity, the Armenian Relief Mission, founded by the couple in 1998.
To aid Dr. Kashian, a crew of volunteers from Zera Construction helped disassemble the large playground set in Northbrook. With the help of a few vendors, Zera transported and loaded the playground parts into a container also carrying medical supplies gathered by Dr. Kashian, which was then shipped by the United Armenia Fund. Upon arrival in Armenia, the playground was broken up into three separate playgrounds, now located at a clinic and orphanage in Vanadzor, and at an orphanage in the capital city, Yerevan. The Wilmette playground was recently shipped and will be re-assembled this October. These rebuilt playgrounds give the Armenian children there a chance to have fun despite very challenging circumstances.
If you know of a playground in your area that will be replaced soon, please contact the Armenian Relief Mission so that it too may be used to benefit Armenian children instead of being thrown into a landfill.
Playground Disassembly
Playground Re-assembly and the Children
Learn more about the Armenian Relief Mission on Chicago Public Radio
"At some point in your life, you need to transition from successful to significant."
– Dr. Stephen Kashian