Return to Afghanistan lets daughter continue legacy

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