David Dowell. 'Sounds English, doesn't he? Yet his heart is Armenian. For over ten years he shunned any form of publicity highlighting his work in Armenia and Artsakh. After much convincing, he agreed to be interviewed by AIM magazine in 1999 - which is when I first heard about him. Two years on, a handful of young Armenians are proud and privileged to have met and worked with him.

On Saturday 17th March, eighteen UK-based Armenians and two girls who flew in especially from Nice, France, left London for Kemble airfield in Gloucestershire, in the west of England. Now a 'retired' businessman, this keen pilot is the Operations Director of Kemble Airfield. On arrival, we were greeted by David and a mountain of humanitarian and medical supplies which he collects and stores in the airport firestation. Amongst the supplies was everything from baby food to shoes and from syringes to photocopiers. There was even an X-ray machine and several computers. According to David, "...good working computers allow the children to move into modern times and ways...". David wished to acknowledge the role played by Dr Ara Nahabedian in assisting him with his collections; "the doctor is fantastic", he stated. As the pictures illustrate, out task that day was to pack everything into boxes which were then counted for an inventory to be presented to Armenian customs.

On Tuesday 10th April, another group of young people returned to load all the packed boxes into nine container lorries, each costing $4500, which left for Armenia and Artsakh. This will mark David's 39th trip. This consignment is funded by the UAF. The load will arrive in Erevan during early May following the ships discharge in the Georgian port of Poti. David will then fly to Armenia to meet the container lorries and distribute the supplies to various parts of both Armenia and Artsakh. He works independently which allows him to set his own schedules and answer only to himself. To date, the shipping for each trip has been funded by various groups - namely the AGBU, Christian Solidarity of Switzerland, several businesses and even David's own pocket.

So how did David get involved in the first place? The tragic earthquake of December 7th 1988 devastated the cities of Gumri and Spitak at the epicentre. At that time, David built up his roofing company, 'Bracknell Roofing', to become the biggest in Europe. Which is why the then British Government called David's company to ask him and his employees to roof the Lord Byron School in Gumri. David and his team were about to witness human suffering at its most painful just months after the earthquake hit the region. Then in 1995, the authorities of Artsakh received David's help when the war with Azerbaijan left Stepanakert in ruins.

From day one, David fell in love with Armenia, Artsakh and its people; so much so that he continues his work thirteen years on. He was recently presented with an Armenian passport. He takes three trips a year on average and until the recent youth help he would undertake all the loading work himself - with assistance from his family and ex-employees. As the AIM article states, "...Dowell has perhaps done more for Artsakh than has been accomplished by any single person. And certainly more than any other non-Armenian...". In the same article, David adds, "...Compared to those of us from privileged countries, they have nothing. Yet they have everything we want....".

See pictures from both days

We ask you to help David in any way you can. Please contact him by e-mail

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