"Way Beyond What I Ever Expected": Peter & Marilyn Sarkesian Visit Future Armavir SMART Center

For Peter and Marilyn Sarkesian, seeing COAF’s second SMART Center rise from the ground in Armavir was more than a construction site visit. It was a chance to witness the next chapter of a vision they have supported for years.

Longtime COAF supporters and recipients of COAF’s 2022 Humanitarian Award, Peter and Marilyn recently visited the future Armavir SMART Campus, where construction is underway on COAF’s second SMART Center. As they toured the site and saw the scale of what is taking shape, Peter reflected on just how far COAF has come since he first became involved.

"To see this happening, and to see Garo Armen’s vision come true and go way beyond what I ever expected from our first meetings — that is what today means to me," Peter said.

A Longstanding Commitment to Armenia’s Children

The Sarkesian Family’s connection to COAF reaches back many years and is rooted in a shared belief in creating lasting opportunities for children and families in rural Armenia.

Through the Ajemian Foundation — established by Peter in 2009 to honor the late Robert Ajemian’s wish to support the betterment of Armenian causes — Peter and Marilyn have championed COAF initiatives in both education and healthcare. Their support has included the complete renovation of the Lernagog School cafeteria and the establishment of one of COAF’s first Health Centers, along with numerous visits to the villages where COAF works.

In 2022, COAF honored Peter and Marilyn with its Humanitarian Award, recognizing their years of generosity and commitment to Armenia’s rural communities.

For Marilyn, that commitment also reflects a lifetime devoted to children. A pediatric nurse practitioner, she spent 43 years at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, including running a clinic in Hamtramck that provided healthcare to a largely underserved immigrant community. Supporting access to quality healthcare through COAF brought that same spirit of service to children and families in Armenia.

Seeing the Next Chapter Take Shape

The Sarkesians’ return to Armavir was particularly meaningful. Lernagog, where they supported one of their earliest COAF projects, is located in the same region where COAF is now building its second SMART Center.

What began years ago with investments in individual village schools, health facilities, and community infrastructure has grown into something much larger.

For Peter, the construction underway in Armavir represents that remarkable evolution.

"From the schools that have been built or rebuilt, to the SMART Center, to this SMART Center — and the multiple SMART Centers planned for the future — it astounds me, and it really makes me happy," he said.

"I'm involved in many things, but COAF has shown me the greatest growth and the most productive end results — and it's continuing. It's helped to grow the children's minds, the adults' minds, and the country's growth as well."

Peter still remembers something Garo Armen told him when he first became involved.

"I'm not here to help financially. I'm here to teach and make it better for the children, so that they can expand their lives and learn," Peter recalls Garo telling him.

"And that's exactly what he did."

Today, the structure rising in Armavir offers a powerful glimpse of how that original vision continues to expand.

"What he's done has so advanced this country, and will continue to advance learning in this country, for the children and generations to come," Peter said.

For Peter and Marilyn, witnessing the Armavir SMART Center under construction brought together the past and future of their journey with COAF — from supporting individual communities to seeing an ambitious new center of learning and opportunity rise before them.

Peter and Marilyn, thank you for standing with COAF through the years, for believing in the potential of Armenia’s children, and for continuing to champion a vision whose impact is reaching farther than ever before.

‍