From left, author Khaled Hosseini, actress Alison Sweeney and event chairman Mostafa Khairzada.

Best-selling author Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner, and Days of our Lives star, Alison Sweeney, joined forces at ARO’s Feb. 24 event, prompting a sold-out event that rose over $35,000 for the Afghanistan Relief Organization’s (ARO) relief and education programs.

Afghan Heritage Night honored Hosseini for raising international awareness of the Afghan experience and culture with his best-selling book, The Kite Runner, currently being adapted as a feature movie by DreamWorks. Sweeney, a popular actress and humanitarian, said she was “overwhelmed” by The Kite Runner and offered her support. Sweeney traveled to Afghanistan in 2003 with the USO, and was touched by the people and beauty of the country.

“I didn’t realize the country was so green and beautiful,” remarked Sweeney, who said she was very touched by her visit to Afghanistan. ARO presented Sweeney with a heart-shaped crystal bowl, engraved with a message recognizing her “humanitarian heart.”

Hosseini was introduced by Sweeney as the Afghan Heritage Night special guest and keynote speaker, honored for creating international awareness of the Afghan experience and culture with The Kite Runner. He was presented with an engraved circular crystal, symbolic of his global impact. Addressing a hushed crowd of close to 450 guests and ARO volunteers, Hosseini discussed the original work on his book—originally a short story—remarked on the international reaction and movie development, and read from letters he has received from readers. “Afghanistan suddenly is a real place,” wrote a reader, acknowledging the change in his perception.

Hosseini personally talked with and signed books for countless guests, greeting many Afghan friends he had not seen for years. One American guest had her husband take her photograph with Hosseini, and then presented Hosseini with the frame she was going to use for the photo. “Will you sign your name to this with, ‘For you, a thousand times over’?” Hosseini readily obliged, smiling at the reference to a famous phrase from The Kite Runner.

Also joining ARO at Afghan Heritage Night were representatives from the Afghan Embassy in Washington D.C., the Afghan Consulate – Los Angeles, the British Consulate-General in Los Angeles. Erin Robertson, with the British Consulate-General, read prepared remarks from Consulate-General Bob Peirce.

“Peace, stability and positive development in Afghanistan are of huge importance to the United Kingdom,” states Peirce’s message, “That is why I am proud that Ambassador Rosalind Marsden and her colleagues at the British Embassy in Kabul, with the financial support of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London, have wisely made a significant contribution to your Afghanistan Relief Organization to cover the cost of teacher salaries for one year.”

“I salute the work you are doing and I am delighted to affirm (our) continuing support in the task of bringing positive development to Afghanistan,” concluded Peirce.

Afghan Heritage Night also showcased a film about ARO’s work by volunteer and documentary film producer Masoud Farand. Along with highlighting relief distributions and the immediate and ongoing needs in Afghanistan, Farhand interviewed teachers at ARO’s Technical Education Center (TEC) in Kabul. Event guests viewed the three-year-old school’s students engaging in classroom activities, enjoying the environment of the flowering interior courtyard, and participating in extra curricular sport activities. “…for those who are helping us in the United States, the Americans and the Afghans, we wish them all success,” smiles Ghaffar Langary in the film, a young teacher interviewed at the education center. One of ARO’s success stories, Langary will be attending preparatory school in Colorado starting in the fall of 2006 through the help of private donors and a school scholarship.

Afghan music was another highlight of Afghan Heritage Night, including performances on instruments traditional to Afghan music: tabla, harmonium, and the rabab. Salar Nader Khan and Sekander Seraj opened the evening with innovative tabla and guitar compositions. Singer Fraidoon Aramesh followed after dinner, with contemporary Afghan songs, and the evening was concluded with classical Afghan songs by Payenda Mangal, accompanied by Masoud Tawafi on tabla. Former Los Angeles Philharmonic flutist Phillip Limina performed world music, and ARO volunteer Chris Slattery with Andre Rossignol performed classical guitar in the reception area for arriving guests.

ARO was particularly assisted by the Pacific Hills Banquet & Catering center in Laguna Hills, CA., which worked with the volunteer fundraising committee and provided the event venue, decoration, and Afghan cuisine for Afghan Heritage Night.

Proceeds from Afghan Heritage Night will allow ARO to distribute critical relief supplies to Afghanistan and help fund ARO’s educational center in Kabul. The TEC provides free education to approximately 800 girls and boys, as well as providing adult vocational programs to encourage self-sufficiency. The success of the TEC—which offers classes from morning to evening to meet demand—has created additional expenses for staffing, maintenance, and supplies. Annual relief shipments and ongoing relief contributions are distributed by ARO volunteers throughout Afghanistan.

For more information, contact info@afghanrelief.org