BEARING LIGHT IN UNBEARABLE TIMES
August 19, 2021
Dear friends, partners, donors, and volunteers -
It is with a heavy heart that I share with you that our relationship with Alya, the founder and former director of our partner organization (Jermik Ankyun Foundation - JAF) has deteriorated beyond imagination. As many of you know, she notified me this summer that she was leaving Warm Hearth for a position in Parliament. Bridget Brown (our board chair), a trusted consultant and I traveled to Armenia in July to hire a new Executive Director. During this trip, the hiring committee (made up of JAF and US Friends of Warm Hearth - FWH representatives) chose a candidate and three days after, that candidate began onboarding. Two days later, on July 28, in direct violation of our mutually agreed upon Rules and Regulations, Alya notified me that her husband would be the director and that she had completely disbanded our local board and replaced them with people who would support this move.
I returned immediately to Armenia, this time with Bridget, and two other board members, Juliet Setian and Marshal Bryant, to investigate the situation. We have done everything we can, with a team of incredible Armenians, to try to remedy the situation. And thus far, we have not been successful. Alya and her husband have not agreed to follow the Rules and Regulations and follow the legal steps necessary that would enable FWH to ensure that all donations are devoted to the care and protection of our residents and staff.
Their unwillingness to follow the Rules and Regulations that have been painstakingly drafted and revised for many years has been astonishing and heartbreaking. And I know that many of your hearts will also be broken with this news. At the moment, the only path forward (according to our lawyer and advisors in Armenia) is to withdraw financial support from our local partner organization, JAF, as long as Alya, her husband and her new board have legal control. If you have any contacts with media, diocese or Armenian organizations, please share them with us. Feel free to also share the attached statement that we sent to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and/or the Press Release with anyone who may be able to help.
I want to reassure those of you who have donated, that based on our investigations and an annual external audit, the last of which was completed in May 2021, we have uncovered only one instance of financial fraud, and this instance was under $100. Based on these and other safeguards, we believe that all donations sent to Friends of Warm Hearth have been applied to our mission up until this time. We want to assure you that our accounts in the US are not accessible to anyone in Armenia and all donations en route to Friends of Warm Hearth and any future donations to FWH will be secure in our US-based account. FWH will not be sending further funds to Jermik Ankyun Foundation's Armenia-based account unless Alya and her husband leave and the local Armenian board is changed according to our Rules and Regulations.
There are systems and forces that seek to destroy all that we believe in. This has been the case since day one. There has been a deep betrayal of all that we stood for and against. Grief and anger are just and proper responses to this place of unraveling and unknowing. Mother Theresa says, and I recite every day: What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
I have told our staff and will tell our residents tomorrow that they are the collective heart of Warm Hearth. They are our North Star, and the reason we exist. That does not change. We must be brave. We must hope that truth will win in the end. We must bear the light in unbearable times. We must bear witness to the unwillingness to follow the Rules and Regulations and the darkness that has surfaced, and not pretend it does not exist. We must hold onto a persistent and stubborn hope that in the end, love wins. And we must pray, with all of our hearts, that our residents will be protected.
I have said many times that I have the honor of knowing the best people the world has to offer. In that group I include many of you, our residents and staff, our FWH board, and my allies and friends here in Armenia. Our allies and friends in Armenia would give a limb to save our residents and we will be counting on them to check in on our residents in this next season when our protection as an organization is put on hold.
Our residents are not alone. They have you. And they have me. And that will always be the case, whatever else happens.
With devotion,
Natalie Bryant-Rizzieri
The Public Statement and Press Release are both included below. Please feel free to share these as you see fit.
Public Statement
Yelena Kirakosyan, Jermik Ankyun Foundation’s founder and Executive Director, was elected as a Parliamentarian for the Hayastan Alliance faction at the request of Vahe Hakobyan, who donated to Jermik Ankyun Foundation through “Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine” CJSC. When Ms. Kirakosyan accepted her role as a deputy for Parliament, she stated her intent to step down from her Executive Director role at Jermik Ankyun Foundation (JAF), which in partnership with Friends of Warm Hearth (FWH), provides forever homes to abandoned Armenians with special needs.
Jermik Ankyun Foundation was founded in 2008 to be the implementing body of the Jermik Ankyun group home movement, which began in 2006 through Friends of Warm Hearth, a USA nonprofit that responded to the profound need in Armenia to care for this vulnerable population.
Friends of Warm Hearth desires that the group home movement in Armenia be exceptional both nationally and internationally. Thus, Friends of Warm Hearth and Jermik Ankyun Foundation worked together for thirteen years with the basis for their partnership being Rules and Regulations, which were crafted by Friends of Warm Hearth based on international best practices for the long-term care of individuals with disabilities.
It is these Rules & Regulations, created to protect individuals with special needs and those who care for them, that Friends of Warm Hearth hopes will be adopted as policy for all future Small Group Homes in Armenia.
In July of 2021, Yelena notified Friends of Warm Hearth that she was resigning as Executive Director; a plan for succession was carefully outlined and implementation began to ensure stability and quality of care through the transition. A full hiring process was jointly completed by the two organizations and an Executive Director candidate was chosen on July 12, 2021.
However, in direct violation of the Rules and Regulations, and in direct contradiction with the joint hiring team’s decision, outgoing Executive Director, Yelena Kirakosyan, informed Friends of Warm Hearth on July 28, 2021 that she had made a unilateral decision a) appointing Jermik Ankyun Foundation’s Board of Trustee’s new members, and b) appointing her husband, Mushegh Kirakosyan, as Executive Director (stating that it was her final decision and was not subject to discussion). On August 5, 2021, Yelena informed Friends of Warm Hearth that she hired her husband as Deputy Director and stated that she “will continue the responsibilities of the director of Jermik Ankyun Foundation” while keeping her position as Member of Parliament.
Friends of Warm Hearth donors have invested $2.2 million into the group home movement in Armenia. These dollars were entrusted to Friends of Warm Hearth and transferred to Jermik Ankyun Foundation based on the core values of honesty, accountability and transparency. Currently all donations are paused due to the known flagrant violations of the Rules and Regulations. Three Friends of Warm Hearth board members and their Executive Director came to Armenia in August to investigate if there are any additional violations to these Rules and Regulations. It is the desire of Friends of Warm Hearth that Jermik Ankyun Foundation act without corruption, nepotism or political affiliations with any party.
The Rules and Regulations are meant to protect and provide a high quality of life for both our residents and staff. The protection of the thirty residents of Jermik Ankyun Foundation is the highest concern for Friends of Warm Hearth.
Based on Jermik Ankyun Foundation's choices to not follow the Rules and Regulations, the trust that Friends of Warm Hearth had in their Armenian counterpart organization, Jermik Ankyun Foundation, has been damaged. Due to Friends of Warm Hearth’s commitment to transparency, honesty and accountability, they are unable to continue funding Jermik Ankyun Foundation while Yelena and Mushegh Kirakosyan are involved. Furthermore, when Yelena Kirakosyan was asked by Friends of Warm Hearth to resign from Jermik Ankyun so that the group home movement could continue unimpeded by the broken trust, Yelena asked for thirteen years of pay as severance.
Friends of Warm Hearth is requesting advice from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in these crucial matters. Our highest priority is to keep the residents safe and secure. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is one of the primary stakeholders in this work given their contract with Jermik Ankyun Foundation and more importantly, given that they are the governmental body that protects our residents.
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
After Sixteen Years Former Peace Corps Volunteers Choose a New Direction in Armenia
Friends of Warm Hearth Inc, (FWH) the US non-profit founded by former Peace Corps Volunteer to Armenia, Natalie Bryant-Rizzieri, is withdrawing its financial support from the Armenian organization, Jermik Ankyun Foundation (JAF), with whom FWH provided forever homes to abandoned orphans with disabilities. This decision is the direct result of JAF founder Yelena Kirakosyan’s choice to not follow the mutually agreed upon Rules & Regulations drafted to ensure the implementation of the mission to provide the highest quality of care for this vulnerable population.
Ms. Kirakosyan, Jermik Ankyun Foundation’s founder and Executive Director, was elected as a Parliamentarian for the Hayastan Alliance faction at the request of Vahe Hakobyan, who donated to JAF through “Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine” CJSC. When Ms. Kirakosyan accepted her role as a deputy for Parliament, she stated her intent to step down from her Executive Director role at JAF.
However, in direct violation of the Rules and Regulations, and in direct contradiction with the joint hiring team’s decision, Ms. Kirakosyan, informed FWH on July 28, 2021 that she had made a unilateral decision a) appointing new members to the JAF’s Board of Trustees, and b) appointing her husband, Mushegh Kirakosyan, as Executive Director (stating that it was her final decision and was not subject to discussion). On August 5, 2021, Ms. Kirakosyan informed FWH that she hired her husband as Deputy Director and stated that she “will continue the responsibilities of the director of Jermik Ankyun Foundation” while keeping her position as Member of Parliament.
Based on JAF’s choices to not follow the Rules and Regulations, the trust between the two organizations has been damaged. Due to FWH’s commitment to transparency, honesty and accountability, FWH is unable to continue funding JAF while Yelena and Mushegh Kirakosyan are involved. Furthermore, when Ms. Kirakosyan was asked by FWH to resign so that the group home movement could continue unimpeded by the broken trust, Ms. Kirakosyan asked for thirteen years of pay as severance.
FWH donors have invested $2.2 million into the group home movement in Armenia. These dollars were entrusted to FWH and transferred to JAF based on the core values of honesty, accountability and transparency. Currently all donations are paused due to the known flagrant violations of the Rules and Regulations. Three Friends of Warm Hearth board members, including Bridget Brown who is also a returned Peace Corps Volunteer to Armenia, and their Executive Director former Peace Corps Volunteer, Natalie Bryant-Rizzieri, came to Armenia in August to investigate if there are any additional violations to these Rules and Regulations. It is the desire of FWH that JAF act without corruption, nepotism or political affiliations with any party.
The Rules and Regulations are meant to protect and provide a high quality of life for both our residents and staff. The protection of the thirty residents of JAF is the highest concern for FWH.
Despite numerous attempts to resolve the matter diplomatically and privately, Ms. Kirakosyan refuses to step down for the preservation of the relationship between JAF and FWH. Additionally, she refuses to comply with the Rules and Regulations and because of this refusal, FWH is withdrawing all financial support to JAF.
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