I Believe in Miracles - Shamsia Razaqi

I believe in miracles.
Every step of the way, at every event, social meeting or even family occasion there were nay -sayers.
People who said Afghanistan was too dangerous.
It’s a lost cause they said.
How can you go in to a war zone and expect to succeed?
Why don’t you donate the money you have raised to another organization and avoid the risk…don’t make your life difficult…
These are words we all heard, and maybe even reconsidered every step of the way.
But today a miracle happened.
Today, March 22nd 2009 we initiated the first step of the Amin Institute.
We opened our doors to all those who set aside their own livelihoods to help us, our neighbors, community elders and leaders to help bless this momentous occasion.
More importantly, we brought home three of our first orphans.
Although, it was only their first day, their faces were visibly brighter then when we first saw them.
They immediately swarmed the house.
Running up and down the tri-level house, climbing the bunk beds, exchanging slippers trying on their new clothes, and taking naps in their new home, a great sense of pride and accomplishment overwhelmed all of us who toiled day and night to prepare this home.
We sat down with them and spoke in great detail about their stories.
They spoke freely and casually about the atrocities they have seen.
Death, devastation, bombardment and abuse just to name a few.
At certain points it became so unbearable I had to leave the room so they wouldn’t see me cry…I don’t want them to feel their strength as my weakness.
Through it all they never shed a tear, flinched or gave their suffering a second thought- it was a natural part of life for them.
Even more immaculately these street children reserved hope.
When asked what they wanted to be when they grow up two of them said a doctor and one said a government minister.
For them the sky is the limit, they cant possibly loose more then they already have and dare I say have the “audacity to hope.”
It became evident that these were the right children for us.
Today we opened the door for hope to replenish the spirits of these three children and in the coming days will welcome several more into our happy home.
We hope that in the coming days, months and years the Omeid family can share many more happy days just like this one.

Helping Afghanistan - Jake Parent

For the past year and some months I have been the Public Relations Officer for Omeid International, a non-profit working to open an orphanage, school, and clinic in Kabul, Afghanistan. I get asked all the time why I want to help people in Afghanistan. Why not help Americans or people anywhere else in the world for that matter? The simple truth is that when I think of all the hardship the people of Afghanistan have been put through. All the suffering and pain that goes beyond just the physical, to the point of destroying a people’s ability to have an identity. When I think of that, I can’t help but wonder how, in a world so enlightened by “progress” and given to believing so thoroughly in its own perfection, do more people not see exactly why it is I feel so drawn to this tiny country on the other side of the world.

If we slow down our lives and think about the structure of the world, we are able to begin to see how each of us, both as individuals and as societies, are interwoven together. In a very real way, to help any person, is to help yourself because if you are able to raise someone up to a level of self sustainability, you don’t have to worry about what they are going to have to do to you in order to survive. You won’t have to look over your shoulder wondering if they are going to come up and stab you in the back so that they can eat.

This world is saturated with the notion that somehow our individual happiness is mutually exclusive to that of others. We think that “if you are happy then I somehow can’t be, and if I am happy, you can’t be”. What this leads to is a philosophy that says, “In order for me to be happy, I have to make you unhappy.” This is a highly shortsighted, dangerous, and, when contemplated for any length of time, an obviously incorrect way of going about our relationships in such an interconnected world. In fact, this approach is antithetical to true happiness because the more people are oppressed, taken from, and otherwise demoralized, the more desperate they will become and, thus, the more dangerous as well. If we want our own lives to be happy, we must begin to value the quality of our connections to the people around us, whether they be next door or on the other side of the world, as much as we do the material things which currently stand as the measure of our worth.

So, more than anything, I am helping the people of Afghanistan because I see such work not only as a means of doing good but as a symbol of an effort towards the humanist empathy which is so lacking in this world; a void standing as probably the greatest roadblock in our collective quest for a peaceful existence. It is my way of building bridges that show, despite the vast many differences we have, that the common connectivity we share as human beings is all the foundation we need to live together. I truly believe that human beings are, by nature, benevolent but hard headed creatures and we must learn our lessons the hard way sometimes for them to stick and be implemented into fundamental change. In my mind, if we can do it in Afghanistan, we can do it anywhere.


Learn more about Omeid International:
On Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/25125/17435373?m=6d54c0aa
On the Web: http://www.omeid.org

Our House is Finally Ready! - Shamsia Razaqi

We did a walk through today and nitpicked at every broken tile, chipped piece of paint and dust bunny hiding in the corners of this grand house that within days will be home to phase one of our Amin Institute. It has been a long, hard crawl but I finally feel we are coming close to this goal we have all worked so long for.

We are lucky to have one of the most dedicated teams I have ever seen, who work with mind body and soul… Our team is matched only in their generosity by the selfless individuals who have believed in us from day one when we were little more than an idea.

Sitting in the vacant room of what I hope very soon inshallah will be full of happy screams and the pitter patter of little feet running around, I am amazed that we have made it this far…and I know we could never have stood on our feet if our supporters didn’t give us the spine with which to support our dreams.
From day one, we have been fortunate.




I am told it because we are doing “gods work” or khair…we are helping the helpless and in this you can never go wrong. I hope this is true.

In addition to this though, I am certain that our good fortune comes in some part from the kind hearts of those who refuse to turn a blind eye to the suffering and misfortune that have beset this country. Our work here in Afghanistan would have been stagnant if we hadn’t met a handful of people who genuinely care about the children they see scraping by on the streets day by day.

People who have dropped everything to help us help their country, and this gives me hope. The fact that the people of Afghanistan have not lost resolve, but are confidently determined to make this window of peace last for a lifetime.
Before coming I was uncertain of what I would find here. To be honest at times I was a little nervous.

Everything we hear in the news is negative…suicide bombing here, shooting there, Taliban taking over…I thought I would be coming back to Afghanistan circa 2000, but the reality on the street is far from negative.

Positivity is everywhere.




I wish the news would report about all the students in foreign language schools and, computer courses or about the girls walking freely in the streets or about all the work that Afghans themselves are putting into rebuilding their country.
Perhaps if these realities were broadcast people would not be so reluctant to help…Afghanistan is not a lost cause.



Afghanistan is in the embryonic stages of a renaissance.
The streets are alive, the young are thirsty for knowledge and change, they just need a catalyst…and I hope we can be that which turns this flicker into a flame

Today was a Good Day - Shamsia Razaqi

Today was a good day.
Better than I expected from the bad news I awoke to.
I woke up today to my neighbor’s kids screaming bloody murder for one and a half hour…the walls here are terribly thin…
once the ear splitting melo-drama subsided my phone rang.
The landlord of the house we rented for phase one of the Amin Institute called me to inform me the house would not be ready today as I had been promised before.


Actually it had been written in our contract that our rental term would begin today.
He asked me to have some compassion for the people vacating it, as they have not yet found a new place to live.
I asked him to have compassion for kids who have never had a place to live.
I was speaking on deaf ears.
I know the most efficient language spoken across the globe is money.
I told him I would not pay until I have the key, he plead for me to pay half and I said we might have half when we get the key.

I figured if they have already breached the agreement a day prior to its commencement, why should I hold up my end.
Then I realized that this is the same vicious cycle that has led to such inefficiency and lack luster reliability.
I wouldn’t let myself be defeated in such a short time…it’s become a challenge!

At any rate it was a good day.

I visited a school that teaches and feeds orphans and impoverished kids in the
“Chil-Setoon” district:




I visited the classrooms and spoke with the directors who offered much wisdom and even volunteered to assist in training our staff.
Sitting in their office listening to all they have done, and all we have yet to do I was overwhelmed…it must have been written all over my face.
They told me, “look sister don’t loose hope, you will do it.”
“This is not a business, there is no loss, you have nothing to loose, and you will make it inshallah.” “ You are doing God’s work, you can not go wrong…everything will fall into its place, just give it time.”
They told me the fact that we had come this far meant we would make it
I trust that they are correct.

After an hour or so they took me to visit their classrooms and one in particular ripped my heart apart.
It was a class of older girls (teen-aged) whose families didn’t want them to attend school.
The school directors are very close to the community and nearly by force brought these young ladies to learn.
They asked me to address the class and give them a message from the US…
I started to speak and tell them what an honor it was for me to be there with them.
I told them I was proud to see the future of my Watan (land/country) in that room and that our country would not move forward in the hands of our men alone, that we need them and before I could go on, I broke down.
I was overcome with grief, pride, sadness and hope all in one.
I had never lost my composure like this in my life.
I have seen bad things, and felt worse things, but never fell apart like that ever before.
I apologized and thanked them for being so strong.

Every day here I learn new lessons in life.
I feel like in the past 2 weeks I have aged 10 years.
I can’t imagine how old these kids feel after all they have been through.

Still, it was a good day.

After visiting the school we were off to the Fabricayii Milli or the “peoples factory” to purchase beds for our children.

We were fortunate enough in our first few days of work to meet an engineer whose brother works with the Red Cross and had awesome connections as a result.
Not only did this engineer give me free Internet…a valuable and expensive luxury here; (without which this blog wouldn’t be possible)…but in addition he also gave us several good leads.

Out of sheer kindness, he left several days of work to help us hunt for homes.
He told us it was his duty to help us.
He said it was rare for Afghan’s who have spent their whole entire lives in comfortable exile to come to one of the most dangerous places in the world to help.
Since we were here to help move Afghanistan forward it was his duty to help us.

It was with his help that we found the house we rented for phase one of the Amin Institute, as well as the bed factory where we got an amazing deal on bunk beds, mattresses and linens today. (Thanks Engineer Habib!!)

That’s just the way things go isn’t it…you meet one “bad” person and it could be the end of your life as you know it…you meet one kind-hearted person and things all fall into place.

The school directors were right...

It's Raining in Kabul... - Shamsia Razaqi

The streets are flooded, rivers of mud flow through the broken avenues and not a person is to be seen on the streets.
Every time I look out my window I wonder where the children have gone on such a day.
Its cold wet and muddy, cars don’t even dare venture out into this mess, where do the children find refuge?

No matter how far I train my eyes I cant see any of them roaming the streets, working or begging, life has come to a standstill in the downpour.

Seeing this only heightens the sense of urgency I feel.
We have a great deal of work ahead of us, and days like this only make me more and more anxious, sometimes I feel like I will explode if I don’t do something more.

But I keep reminding myself I am doing something.
We are doing something.
Every one of you who over the past few years that have dropped their dollars and cents in to our humble little donation boxes is doing something.

It’s a steady crawl, but we are moving.
Having been born and raised in the west I must admit I have become accustomed to instant gratification.
I expect things to get done in a timely manner, and by the book.
Here there is no book no clock and no expectations.
Expectations only lead to disappointment, I learned that the hard way.
Its better not to have expectations that way you will not get disappointed
I have learned instead, to ask when someone tells me something will be done in a day if it will really be done in a day or if it will be an Afghan day, meaning 5 or 6 days.
This makes them laugh, but they know its true.

I realized that learning to relive your life and plunge into the mundane tasks of daily life after nearly 30 years of war is not an easy thing to do.
I remind myself to exercise patience and that I cannot have the same expectation as I do of those trained for bureaucratic service comfortably in the west.

Our work is moving along but very slowly due to the ridiculously huge bureaucracy and amount of red tape we have to cut through.
To get the job done here you have to know someone, and bless my uncle he knows everyone, otherwise we might be stuck at ground zero forever…(thanks Kaka Kabir!!)

For each of our programs there is a separate ministry with which we must register before our work can go forward, for example the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economics, Ministry of Women, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to name just a few.
Each one of these entities is a beast in itself.
They are enormous, slow and corrupt.
To make things worse, these ministries have recently become danger zones as 4 were recently targeted for attacks.

Nonetheless, we are here to get the job done, and finish we will.
We all knew from the start that this would not be a walk in the park, and really couldn’t know what to expect until we arrived.
I will tell you one thing, the realities on the ground are far from what we hear in the states.

Sure the bureaucracy is beastly and corrupt, many might even ask why we have to jump through so many hoops to perform such a righteous deed.
It was not until I arrived here that I learned why the process is so lengthy.
In the past, predators have done evil deeds in the name of aid.
Hundreds of orphans were taken from the streets under the auspices of various orphanages.
Later it was learned that these very orphans were slaughtered and their organs sold in Pakistan. What can you say to that?

Such truth leaves me speechless and pushes me harder, faster and more determined than ever to keep these innocent children from falling into the hands of devils.

I know we cant save them all, but if we can rescue even a few then we have performed a great deed.
I only wish that my words and photos can relay the sense of urgency I feel when I walk the streets here.
I wish you all could be here to see it for yourself.
I swear not one of you would leave without doing something to relieve just a little of these people’s pain.
The realities are consuming.
It’s my duty to bring the facts to you all, and I hope from the bottom of my heart that my words can compel you enough to help us help them.
I know we cant save them all, but today because of your generosity we are able to help ten.
With your continued support we can help, 50, 100,or 1000.
But we cannot do it alone.

Afghanistan Has Changed - Shamsia Razaqi

The last time I was here in 2003 faces of war were all you could see.
The buildings that stood had been bombed and gutted out riddled with bullet holes.
Widows, orphans, and amputees swarmed the streets desperate for change.
Coalition tanks grinded through the battered asphalt, patrolling the broken streets.

Today, Kabul is a sea of change, the crumbling buildings have been knocked down and replaced with row upon row of shops, bazaars, noisy fruit stands and blaring music from block to block.
Some areas even host fancy western style high rise buildings and hotels and wedding halls by the dozen whose blue glass shimmers as an oasis in the dusty devastation amongst Kabul’s relics of war.
The changes are small but I still see HOPE.

The beggars and children still line the streets, but seem to have decreased.
I am unsure to what this can be attributed to…have they found a home?
Have they moved out of the city…or worse have they been sold into black market prostitution rings, human smuggling, the opium war or insurgent cells?
I shudder to think of where they have gone…and remember why I left my life behind to be here in what in western eyes is being called a war zone…to me its just home.

Contrary to what is reported in the west, the national army and police have taken over security in the capital, in fact they have it on lock.
NATO has moved to the outskirts and the Afghans have moved in.
Check point after checkpoint cars are scrutinized and searched, still, despite the redevelopment that has occurred there are constant reminders of the politics that have hindered true independence.
Despite all the strides Afghanistan has made towards peace and development each armed guard, tank and government militia is a reminder of the dangers that remain, dangers that threaten the lives of millions of homeless children across this country.

Sure the façade of war is slowly fading, but please don’t mistake this for progress.
No, no, we haven’t gone from third world to second world.
No, we have gone from an all out open war zone to a nauseatingly impoverished society desperate for development, hope and change.

I am reminded of this each time I step out of my post-soviet built projects and see children sleeping in the mud and refuse that most wouldn’t even allow their dogs to sleep in.
I am reminded of this each time I hear kids banging at my door begging for food.
I am reminded of how desperate my people are when I see grown men who should be war heroes bow their heads in shame as they beg for spare change to feed their families wasting away by the wayside.
I am reminded of this each time I see delicate little girls trudging barefoot through the snow.
I am reminded of this each time I step outside and see young boys working as welders and carpenters when they should be in school…
I wonder how these welders and beggars will move this fragile society forward when they lack even the most fundamental human rights; like education, health, and security…are they not the future of this country?
Is the fate of this country not linked to my comfortable life back in the states?

Walking the dusty streets of Kabul my heart breaks 10 times a day and I remember why I am here.