2009 Delivery Photos

A thank you for all your help and support and help in making the lives of the children better.

Hassina Omar.

9News Interview

Cheryl Preheim speaks with Hassina for a story examining the escalation of violence in Afghanistan.

9News story here.

DENVER – A woman in Colorado is helping the youngest victims of the war in Afghanistan. Hassina Omar just returned from Kabul and says the need is greater than ever.

She says the Taliban used to target embassies and government buildings, but is now more often targeting civilian buildings like airports and schools.

There is no single official figure for the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan since the war started in 2001. The United Nations Assistance Mission puts the number between 12,000 and 32,000.

It says the number of injured is significantly greater.

Omar has hundreds of pictures from her recent trip. When she sees the faces of the children she sees that the story of their lives could have been the story of hers.

“I was 12 years old when the Russians invaded and my family fled,” she said.

That was about 30 years ago, but Omar has never forgotten her native country and the children who don’t have a way out.

“That is the whole point of going back every year. You see all they are suffering and just want to help,” she said. “When the kids are just outside, just trying to get through the day and they are stepping on a land mine and they don’t have any limbs. What is the future of that child and what did that child do to deserve that?”

Coloradans are helping. Nearly $27,000 in donations helped Omar deliver needed supplies to Afghanistan.

She is carrying on the work of her late mother through an organization called Handicapped Children of Afghanistan.

In September, she took crutches, wheelchairs and walkers to children recovering at hospitals in Kabul. She also went to schools and handed out 900 bags of rice.

One bag of rice can feed a family of five for two months.

This trip Omar says she noticed a difference. When a bomb exploded at the Kabul Airport on Sept. 17, she felt the walls of a school shake.

She says Kabul isn’t as safe as it used to be and says it’s hard to see the country in its current state.

“It’s become this hub of terror this little country that didn’t have much,” she said.

It is the only life these children have ever known.

“If you look at their little faces they are smiling and happy and you think, ‘In a war zone how can that be?’ They are just trying to make the best out of every day,” Omar said.

Omar hopes one day they will know peace.

Edited by Caleb Cross | Denver

Denver Woman Magazine Article

Hassina Omar and “Handicapped Children of Afghanistan” are featured in the February issue of Denver Woman Magazine.

Carol McKinley visits with Hassina and pens this in depth article in the “Role Models” section of Denver Woman.

Read the full article here – and reprinted below.

This October, Denverite Hassina Omar honored her late parents by carrying on their dream: helping children wounded from three decades of war in Afghanistan. Once there, she realized there was more to do. And she made it her dream too.

She is confident and tall in her heels. Her hair is so black and shiny it’s almost blue. Her green eyes light up, and it’s impossible not to return her smile.

Hassina Omar looks like a princess from far away who’s been plopped into an unlikely place: Radio Station KOA’s newsroom. Laughing, she says, “Look at this button. The cover’s coming off.” She smooths down her blazer with long, cool fingers.

Fashion talk is the Western way, but just three months ago the makeup was gone, and she covered her sweat pants with a black robe so as not to draw attention to herself. Omar was visiting a hospital in Kabul, delivering boxes of tiny crutches and wheelchairs. Waiting for them were children injured by land mines left from 30 years of war.

She is carrying on her mother’s life’s work. Handicapped Children of Afghanistan was started by Khadija Omar to care for kids whose disabilities are often ignored by their government. “The children are the ones who are most innocent,” says Hassina. “Many of these kids are released from the hospital with nowhere to go, their parents blown up by some crazy fanatic. These are the most graceful children I have ever met.”
Handicap International reports 800,000 people in Afghanistan have been injured by scattered mines and explosives, which are forgotten until they’re stepped on. Half of these casualties are individuals under 19 years of age.

This is not the Afghanistan Hassina Omar was born into. Forty-one years ago, it was a neutral country run by a king. Omar was the baby of five children, outspoken and fiery. Her parents were educated in France and sent her to international schools, where she learned English. When she was 12 years old, the Russians invaded, and the world as she knew it was over. Her father, Abdullah Omar, was the minister of public health, a respected physician known for building family-planning clinics in the most rural areas of Afghanistan.

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9News Interview Video

9News reporter Cherlyn Preheim speaks with Hassina Omar about her recent trip.

9News Interview . October 29

9NEWS reporter Cheryl Preheim speaks with Hassina Omar about her 2008 Afghanistan trip. 9News story.

DENVER – A dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to, but one American dollar can still help change a life in other parts of the world. It’s all a matter of perspective.

Hassina Omar lives in Denver. A trip to her native country of Afghanistan has changed the way she views her community, herself and the challenges we all face.

“I was 12 years old when the Russians invaded and my family fled. We only had the clothes on our backs. I have been grateful every day since for another chance,” said Omar.

Her father, Abdullah Omar, was the Minister of Health in Afghanistan before the invasion. He was later assassinated.

Hassina’s mother Khadija raised Hassina and her siblings in Colorado. Khadija never forgot all the other children in Afghanistan who have faced do much hardship since.

Khadija started the group Handicapped Children of Afghanistan to help raise money for those children.

Since her mother’s death, Hassina has continued her legacy.

“It is sad. Ninety percent of Afghanistan’s people are starving and 10 percent are making it,” said Omar. “Every day I just count my blessings. It just makes you want to go back and help.”

In October, she made her first trip back to Afghanistan in nearly 30 years to deliver donations from Coloradans. She bought and distributed 1,040 bags of rice. Even rice, at $40 a bag, is a luxury to many in a country where the average yearly income for a family is $300.

“The families are just fighting to survive,” said Omar.

Omar came back to Colorado with a new perspective of the current challenges we all face.

“We are in an economic crisis here today and it is difficult, but if you realize how much more we have here you see it differently,” she said. “We have electricity, we have running water and a roof over our heads. We are in a tough place right now but we are still lucky because we have food on our plates and we are not in a war zone.”

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Omar is now collecting donations for her next trip to Afghanistan next year.

You can make a donation at:
UMB Bank
c/o Handicapped Children of Afghanistan
707 Colorado Blvd.
Denver, CO 80206

(Copyright KUSA*TV. All rights reserved.)

Updated Delivery Photos

These were sent from Dr. Predja, at the Emergency IT War Zone Hospital.

He wanted us to share in the experience of the children recieving the items purchased before departure.

This package consists of elbow crutches, walkers and wheelchairs.
 

more photos…

Hospital Delivery!

October 8th, 2008… We visited with children staying at this hospital.

Some of these photos are not pleasant to view but it is the reality of war and innocent children are injured by land mines and they have suffered from decades of war. It will be my mission to continue and aid the innocent Handicapped Children of Afghanistan.

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School for the Blind

On October 7th we delivered 234 bags of rice.

Below are some photos of the school.  While the students face many more challenges than the average Afghan youth, the instructors provide an excellent environment for learning given the resources they have.

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Negotiating at the Market

Hassina uses her superb negotiating skills, (well honed in the Denver media market,) to hammer out a mutually beneficial deal for this rice vendor and children at the hospital.

More photos… Read the rest of this entry »

School for the Deaf

On October 8th we visited the “School for the Deaf,” delivering 321 bags of rice for meals. These boys are learning sign language from a dedicated instructor, however at this instant it appears they’re more interested in the camera.

more photos below…

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Landscapes of Afghanistan

From our October 2008 journey – these are Kabul and the surrounding areas en route to the small outlying towns.

more photos below…

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Clear Channel Press Release 2008

Clear Channel Employee Honors Parents by Aiding Handicapped Children of Afghanistan

from Clear Channel Local Spirit

Denver, CO – Hassina Omar, Clear Channel Radio Account Executive, recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan where she delivered over $42,000 in aid to the disabled children of Afghanistan. Omar is continuing the mission that her late mother, Khadija Omar started several years ago at age 74 by founding Handicapped Children of Afghanistan. The Omar family was determined to send wheelchairs and other needed supplies to innocent Afghan children who had been victims of land mines and other devices. Omar’s mother made two trips to the region to deliver supplies before her death at age 76.

Omar says, “I will continue my beloved parents mission of helping innocent children that have suffered during decades of war. My father had built hospitals in the most rural places in Afghanistan to help the less fortunate. We are truly blessed and I will remain humble and I will always be grateful for I am amongt the lucky and I have realized how unfortunate so many innocent people are. If I can make a small difference in their lives, I will continue to do so.”

Tax deductible donations may be sent to: Handicapped Children of Afghanistan, c/o UMB Bank, 707 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO, 80206.

Local Artisens

This gentleman makes rugs, and below the raw leather rolls become beautifully intricate purses, wallets, and shoes.

2007 Delivery

Afghans for Tomorrow Humanitarian Aid Shipment #7 through the Denton Program: 951 boxes weighing 25,569 lbs. were moved from Castle Rock and Aurora, CO to Peterson Air Force Base on December 17th, 2007. They were loaded then unloaded with the help of the New Hope Men’s Fellowship volunteers – pictured below:

Approximately 700 boxes, that had been stored in Castle Rock for over 9 months, were transported by several trucks, vans and a large bus, by the NHMF shown above. The boxes of humanitarian supplies included hand knit wool garments, blankets, shoes, clothing, sewing supplies, medical equipment, seed packets, and more.

Handicapped Children of Afghanistan Charity started by the late Khadija Omar (below right), and continued in her honor by her daughter Hassina, raised money for wheelchairs and crutches for Afghanistan last year. These filled 258 boxes shown in the two trucks (on the right) which transported these supplies from Aurora to Peterson. Khadija and her late husband Dr. Abdullah Omar were always involved in helping the less fortunate people of Afghanistan.

These boxes were loaded on pallets then airlifted to Bagram, via Ramstein AB, Germany, and brought by A4T representatives to our Kabul Office in January 2008. We thank Najibullah Sedeque and Najib Mojaddidi for all their help with the delivery and the storage of these boxes.

This was the last of the New Hope Men’s Fellowship shipments to Afghanistan. A4T is very grateful to all these volunteers.

Seven shipments have been sent from Castle Rock under the Denton Program since 2002. The Denton Program is a US Government program (under the State Dept. and USAID) to ship humanitarian aid from the US to countries around the world at government expense.

As soon as the customs have approved of these boxes, the items will be distributed to the Afghans who greatly need them.

Clear Channel Press Release 2007

Handicapped Children of Afghanistan is featured on Clear Channel’s “Local Spirit” site:

Clear Channel Employee Promotes Fundraiser for Disabled Children in Afghanistan

Denver, Colorado — Hassina Omar, a Clear Channel Communications employee in Denver, is working to raise money for disabled children in Afghanistan. All of the proceeds from a book that Hassina is promoting will be used to buy wheelchairs for needy Afghan children. Hassina and her group have raised $8,300 towards their goal of $10,000.

The cost of the book is $10.00 and you may contact Hassina Omar for further information or to purchase the book.