Mrs. Zevart Nadjarian is the initiating founder, consultant and Board member of “Armenian Caritas” benevolent NGO.

Ground work activities for the establishment of a Caritas office in Armenia started in 1993 by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) after the closure of their office in Lebanon where Mrs. Nadjarian, Director of the office, was hired by CRS as consultant/trainer for the establishment of a Caritas office in Armenia.

On October 6, 1994, Mrs. Nadjarian and Mr. Robert Quinlan from CRS Geneva visited the Armenian Catholic Ordinariate in Gyumri to assess the willingness of the Armenian Catholic Church to establish a Caritas and become engaged in relief and development activities, accept in-house technical assistance from CRS, use future resources to promote well-being of the poor and victimized in such a way that need, not creed, become the sole determinant for extending assistance. The Armenian Catholic Ordinariate, located in Gyumri, North Armenia, headed by His Excellency, Archbishop Nerses Ter Nerssian, and Vicar General, Msgr. Neshan Kara Keheyan thanked her for the efforts and promised to assist. Thus based on the report of Mrs. Nadjarian and Mr. Quinlan, on March 1995, a special meeting in Cyprus organized by CRS, endorsed the establishment of “Armenian Caritas.” And empowered Mrs. Nadjarian to implement the project.

The first two hires were Mr. Gagik Tarasyan and Mr. Samvel Gevorgyan who left for Lebanon and attended a workshop prepared and executed by Mrs. Nadjarian, then travelled to Cairo to participate at CRS/Caritas Middle East and North Africa Management Sessions. Thus, a Caritas office came to life in Armenia. In May 1995, the Armenian Catholic Church founded a Caritas office in Gyumri, the center of Shirak province. The Pastoral Board appealed to Caritas Internationalis (CI) asking to approve the initiative and as “Armenian Caritas” was accepted into the worldwide family of Caritas as an associated member.

In 1996, Mrs. Zevart Nadjarian as a member of the Board of Directors, consisting of a President and six other members, established the strategy of the organization and supervised its implementation. With the consent of the church representatives all required documents for official registration of “Armenian Caritas” were prepared and thus the organization was officially recognized by the Armenian Ministry of Justice as a local NGO in 1997. Since 1999, “Armenian Caritas” has become a full member of Caritas Internationalis. It is also an affiliated member of Caritas Europa and ICMC (International Catholic Migration Commission).

In January 1998, the “Armenian Caritas” Board of Directors was elected to begin the implementation of community-based development programs. However, in order to diversify the organization’s programmatic base, its institutional capacity needed to be strengthened. This was achieved through the assistance of CRS to Armenia where Mrs. Nadjarian was an International Consultant. The knowledgeable and consistent efforts of Mrs. Nadjarian’s shaped the future of “Armenian Caritas.”

“Armenian Caritas” has since extended its humanitarian and development activities to other areas of the country apart from Shirak Province, operating in the Provinces of Lori, Gegharkunik and Ararat, as well as Yerevan City.

Today, “Armenian Caritas” boasts a solid institutional base, with a clearly defined mission and strategy. More importantly, it maintains a strong potential for growth in order to serve its beneficiaries at an increasing capacity. During the 22 years with “Armenian Caritas” Mrs. Nadjarian has started and overseen multiple programs aimed at ending poverty and social vulnerability. The benevolent work offers many rewards, not least of which includes engaging and rewarding staff that support beneficiaries who chronically struggle. Holding a Diploma in Office management, Book- keeping and ABC Short Hand, Mrs. Nadjarian is trained in consulting program management/development, community outreach, fundraising, staff development and allocation of resources.

Armenian native Mrs. Nadjarian believes in a strong work ethic, dedication, elegance in design and execution and collaboration in performance. Excellence and achievement became a foundation from which to go forth in the world. Thus, the AGBU Tarouhy Hagopian College for Girls in Lebanon was followed by graduate school of Ecole Pigier Academy of France, followed by General Certificate of Education and Child Psychology and Management of Kindergarten in London. The continual pursuit of new ideas and learning best practices was well applied in her career of a Principal of the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate’s, Kevork Harboyan Secondary School in Lebanon.

Throughout her career, Mrs. Nadjarian’s achievements have resulted in numerous promotions and community recognition awards, including: “Cross of Jerusalem” from Greek Catholic Patriarch in Lebanon; Cross of Mechitarists Congregation in Lebanon; Sourb Mesrop Mashtots from Armenian Catholic Patriarch; Certificate of Senior Veteran from the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), the 50th Anniversary of the Jinishian Memorial Program (JMP) Appreciation and the Gold Medal from the Ministry of Armenian Diaspora.

As Mrs. Nadjarian said in her speech in the RA MoD on June 30, 2017, “This medal is not only honorable but also encouraging and motivating to continue my humble but rather wide service to my nation and Motherland.”

Mrs. Nadjarian was extensively involved in Voluntary Activities as a Chairperson at Armenian Educational Benevolent Union, Chairperson at Jinishian Memorial Program and Vice President towards Lebanese government. She was a Member of Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee, headed by Armenian Catholic Patriarch. She is a Member of Armenian Catholic Patriarchate’s school Board, headed by Armenian Catholic Catholicos Patriarch Gregory Peter XX, of Catholic Armenians of Cilicia.

She is happily married to a famous journalist Sarkis Nadjarian.

In her spare time, Mrs. Nadjarian enjoys reading, cooking and taking care of her grandchildren.