“The initiative to start APAA was a call from the heart.”

Inside Afghanistan: Millions of Orphans
Dana King
CBS5 NEWS
Sept 21, 2004
read the story on CBS NEWS

I MISS YOU

I woke up this morning and listened, I listened for our early morning home life buzz, listened for the sound of your voice, Your voice gently whispering and humming, Humming words of love to me.

And I woke up this morning, but heard nothing, Nothing familiar, nothing I know, Nothing I know now but a true pain, A true pain flowing through my body and soul, For I will not hear you and, I will not see you, You all who gave me warmth, who shared food and laughter, You who gave me life, Life today forever changed, Changed into loneliness, Loneliness and fear, Fear with none of you, You who were everything to me, I miss you I miss you every moment of the day, Day in and day out, Out of tears I sit awake and carefully listen, Listen for you… in case, just in case, … How I miss you.

For the forgotten children of Afghanistan with Love

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The Lost Children of Afghanistan

“War violates every right of a child, the right to life, the right to be with family and community, the right to health, the right to development of personality and the right to be nurtured and protected.”

Afghanistan has endured 25 years of brutal wars during which human rights were violated amongst all generations and genders, leaving thousands of widows and tens of thousands of war orphans behind. These children are survivors of bombings, shelling of their homes, schools and playing fields; many others have been killed, raped, sold into prostitution or maimed by landmines, which still litter the country. Many children today still suffer serious traumatic stress.

They live on the streets and are subject to hunger, abuse, and extremely poor health, the lucky ones are taken into orphanages, which for the most part operate on very little resources.

In addition to facing life without their loved ones and in critical conditions these children are also deprived of knowledge and education and the most basic fun other children of their age enjoy on a daily basis.

APAA is determined to assist them in the best possible way by raising funds to provide for their basic needs so as to enhance their lives and empower them as individuals.

APAA is to provide these children with art materials and classes as well as educational reading material regarding the Archeology and History of their country so they may grow up with a sense of pride and hope for a better future as they will be given a sense of belonging to a once incredible country now shredded to misery.

APAA’s President, Dr. Tarzi grew up in Afghanistan and cherishes his childhood memories from a pre-war Afghanistan. After visiting several orphanages he felt compelled to act on behalf of the orphans so they may have a chance to also have good childhood memories. With the assistance of the Directors there a list of items urgently needed has been put together.

Orphans in Afghanistan

Photos courtesy from Teun Voeten, http://www.teunvoeten.com

ART WITH HEART: A KID TO KID CAMPAIGN

"ART WITH HEART: A Kid to Kid Campaign" is undertaken by CBS5 anchor Dana King and Nadia Tarzi founder of the San Rafael based Association for the Protection of Afghan Archaeology, a non-profit with 501c3 status focused on cultural preservation.

San Francisco Bay Area schools children are invited and encouraged to participate in a drawing competition based on educational, grade and age appropriate slide presentations brought to their schools and depicting beautiful archaeological sites, statues, objects and monuments as well as breathtaking landscapes of Afghanistan.

The San Francisco Bay Area 12 winners whose drawings will be included in our "2008 ART WITH HEART" calendar will learn about the heritage of Afghanistan and also learn about their own, through the prizes they will receive: local Museum guided visits, local historical landmarks visits, a lunch at their local Afghan restaurant with their teacher and the opportunity to meet with the Mayor of their town to give him or her a "2008 ART WITH HEART" calendar.

Please click here for a detailed description of our project and how it works; San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, wife of U.S. Ambassador of Afghanistan  Shamim Jawad, The Governor of Bamiyan Mrs. Sorabi, Roya and Khaled Hosseini, your Superintendent of schools and many others have pledged support for this across the boarders Art Preservation  initiative, we hope that your school will join us.

To receive more detailed information and set up a slide presentation for your school please contact us at ArtwithHeart@apaa.info

More Information

For a complete Bio and List of Publications please contact our APAA Administration at info@apaa.info