Installed July 8, 2022
Thanks to the efforts of CINF and the generosity of Aghavni Gulatyan, Karo Aylozyan, and Arus Kazarian, a beautiful Children’s Playground was opened at the Antonia Arslan Armenian-Italian Hamalir in Stepanakert, Artsakh. The playground was made possible by a gift from the children of Maryam Aylozyan who passed away on November 19, 2019. To honor her memory, her children formed a fund in lieu of flowers for her funeral, raising approximately $6,000 for the project. Due to COVID and the 2020 Artsakh war, the project was delayed and only came to fruition this summer.
Maryam loved the laughter of children, and on July 8, 2022, she heard it in Stepanakert. The inauguration of Maryam’s Playground included an official ribbon-cutting ceremony in the presence of CINF representatives and the Artsakh community; Vice-President Siobhan Nash-Marshall, the Principal of the Arslan Hamalir Tatev Zakaryan, Hamalir Athletic Coach Trey Blanton, the Minister of Education, Culture, and Sports Anahit Hakobyan, as well as other dignitaries, teachers, parents, and last but not least, many happy children.
1938 – 2019
About Maryam Aylozyan
Maryam Aylozyan was born on February 14, 1938, in Kavalla, Greece. In 1947, like many Armenians, her family settled in Armenia. There, she married and had three children. She was a generous homemaker, a humble woman devoted to family, Armenian culture, and music. In 1981, the family emigrated to the United States, but Maryam never forgot her roots. She continued her devoted work towards helping her countrymen. In addition to her three children, she had five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.