Against all odds, and contrary to popular wisdom, Armenia's economy has turned around over the last half-decade. Consistent, continuous double-digit growth has transformed Yerevan into a vibrant capital. First-time tourists and frequent visitors are pleasantly surprised and genuinely impressed. And Armenia's second and third cities, too, are approaching renewal.

Armenia is a small country, and one might expect that such progress should also be visible away from the cities. But Armenia's rural communities continue to suffer because the starting point for Armenia's economic rebound was insufferably low. The social and economic destruction extended to each village. Infrastructure was - and remains -devastated. In addition, Armenia's borders to the east and the west are closed. Therefore, natural economic and social activity is nonexistent in a large number of communities. As a result, chronic poverty is coupled with frustration and hopelessness. It is no surprise then that out-migration is seen as a an escape from a spiral of hopelessness and poverty.

The Government of Armenia has addressed these threats of poverty, inequality, powerlessness and the resultant civic disengagement, through the Poverty Reduction Strategy. The national budget, too, is allocating more funds to rural areas. Individual Diasporans have seen the immensity of the problem and have offered a gamut of generous assistance. International organizations are focusing their resources on rural communities. The results are visible - slowly.

It is against this background that our program was born: To offer supplementary support in the form of comprehensive infrastructure and economic assistance to Armenia's rural communities in order to create equal and fair opportunities for them to develop normally, today, in this generation.

The idea that our citizens should be consigned to bad roads, bad schools and bad health care, because history has made of them a case study goes counter to our dreams of a homeland and our commitment to a just and fair society. There can be no dignified living without water and telephone lines, heat and electricity.

But infrastructure alone does not reduce poverty and remove unjust inequalities. Creating economic opportunities, teaching good governance and offering the necessary skills - these too are essential to erase the deep development disparities that exist today between Armenia's cities and rural areas.

With your help, this is what we will do: Fifty sponsors are ready to undertake the rebuilding of 50 rural communities. As this program gets underway this year, we will begin to identify a further 50 communities and a new set of donors. Over the next decade and a half, half of Armenia's rural communities will receive a push out of poverty and towards sustainability and self-reliance.

By 2020, we will be a country that is heading to full membership in the developed world. We will also be heading towards the Republic's 30th anniversary, and the residents of rural Armenia, too, will celebrate independence with hope, dignity and confidence.
Let's build Armenia - one village at a time.