The history of ANCHA is the story of Armenians rescuing Armenians in distress. In part, it is the story of caring, energetic organizers who recognized a challenge, sounded the alarm and assumed the burden of leadership. Above all, it is the story of a community, young and old, of organizations and individuals answering the call, taking ownership, taking responsibility for the fate of their countrymen, and opening their hearts and doors to rescue and shelter Armenians in need.
After World War I, the American Near East Relief organization rescued survivors of the Genocide and cared for a generation of orphans. The Norwegian explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen advocated for Armenian refugees and established international travel documents, ""The Nansen Passport,"" which facilitated the resettlement of Armenians. After World War II, with thousands of Armenian refugees scattered over a devastated Europe, it was an Armenian grass roots organization, ANCHA, that rescued and resettled compatriots in need.
Starting in 1947, a handful of organizers led by George Mardikian and Suren Saroyan, founded ANCHA and mobilized a large segment of the Armenian community to raise travel funds, lobby the United States government, send food and clothes to over 3,500 Armenians in Displaced Persons (DP) camps in Europe, and ultimately provide shelter to compatriots in distress. With sixty-two ANCHA offices around the United States, staffed by 300 to 400 volunteers, ANCHA set the foundations that would rescue and assist the Armenian DPs. Over the span of half-a-century ANCHA rescued and assisted tens of thousands of Armenians, including those from Eastern Europe and the Middle East.