The Khaled Hosseini Foundation

As was outlined in The Kite Runner, Afghans are facing incredibly tough times because of the wars that have shook their country. Millions of people left their homes and became refugees, fighting just to stay alive. Khaled Hosseini recognized this problem, and he created The Khaled Hosseini Foundation. This foundation works to shelter refugees and return them to their native country. This video explains exactly what The Khaled Hosseini Foundation does.

Visit http://www.khaledhosseinifoundation.org/index.php to learn more about the foundation.

About the Author

So you want to know more?

If you have read The Kite Runner, hopefully you are blown away by how well the story is written. Personally, I thought the book was brilliantly written and well thought-out. Can you believe that was Khaled Hosseini's FIRST novel? It takes real talent for an author's very first book to have such great success. Let's jump into Hosseini's biography and maybe we can come to terms with why he was so successful.

Khaled Hosseini was born on March 4, 1965, in Kabul, Afghanistan. His father worked for the foreign ministry, and in 1976, he was assigned to the embassy in Paris, France. This was three years after Daoud Khan proclaimed himself as president of the newly formed republic. In 1980, when it became apparent that the Hosseini family would not be able to return to Afghanistan, the family applied for political asylum in the United States. Once they were granted this, the family moved to San Jose, California, where they lived for a little while on welfare and worked at the flea market among fellow Afghans. Khaled was fifteen.

Khaled became a biology major at Santa Clara University and studied medicine at the University of California, San Diego. He began his medical practice in Pasadena, California. Not long afterward, Khaled and his wife, Roya, settled in Mountain View, California.

In 2003, Hosseini published his first novel, The Kite Runner, which made the New York Times bestseller list for more than two years. The book received a number of accolades including the Boeke Prize, the Alex Award, Literature to Life Award, and ALA Notable Book. Sadly, many Afghans rejected The Kite Runner, angered by its portrayal of ethnic prejudice. The book, however, became a movie in 2007. About a year and a half after The Kite Runner was published, Hosseini quit his medical career to become a full-time writer, and he was able to contribute all of his time to his next two novels.

Earlier in 2007, Hosseini published A Thousand Splendid Suns, a book also centered on the culture of Afghanistan. Much like The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns accumulated great success, and it also spent over two years on the New York Times bestseller list.

In 2013, Hosseini's third novel, And The Mountains Echoed, has already topped the charts on the New York Times bestseller list. If this book is anything like his last two, it is likely to stay on the bestseller list for a while.

Khaled Hosseini's website is: www.khaledhosseini.com.

Afghanistan Timeline

Below I have shared a timeline of Afghanistan as it pertains to The Kite Runner, borrowed from ABC. I feel that having a timeline that shows the order of events that happened in the book will not only make the book more clear, but also make Hosseini's biography easier to understand.

1933: Following years of civil unrest, Zahir Shah becomes king and remains in power for the next 40 years.

1973: The former prime minister, Daoud Khan, seizes power in a coup and declares a republic. He is overthrown in 1978 and a year later, Hufizullah Amin wins a power struggle and becomes president.

1979: Soviet troops move into Afghanistan and remove Hufizullah Amin from power. In 1980, backed by the Soviet Union, Babrack Karmal is installed as president.

1985: Islamic fighters known as Mujahedeen intensify their resistance to the government and Soviet occupation. The United States provides financial backing to their cause and in 1986 supplies them with Stinger missiles, enabling Mujahedeen to shoot down Soviet helicopters.

1989: Soviet troops leave Afghanistan, leaving pro-Soviet President Mohammed Nujiballah exposed.

1992: Mujahedeen take control of the capital, Kabul and President Nujibullah falls from power. Rival militias compete for control.

1996: The Taliban seize control and introduce extreme Islamic law, banning women from work and using brutal punishments like stoning to death and amputations.

2001: Four US airliners are hijacked. Two are flown into the World Trade Center and one hits the Pentagon. Another crashes in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people are killed in the attacks. The United States blames Al Qaeda.

The US and Britain launch air strikes in Afghanistan after the Taliban refuse to hand over bin Laden. Opposition forces seize most major cities including Kabul and the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

2012: Osama bin Laden is found and killed.

Do Your Part

Same Kind of Different as Me is one of those books that motivates its readers to get out and do something to better the community. No doubt that readers of this book will definitely never look at the homeless the same way ever again. Some may do their part by giving money to one of the homeless guys they saw down the street while others may feel inspired to volunteer their time at homeless shelters as Ron and Deborah did. Hey, if you are feeling super inspired, you might even do both! Whatever the case, I am providing websites for homeless shelters in Amarillo, Texas, and if Ron, Deborah, and Denver had any impact on you at all, maybe you will want to check these places out.

The first shelter I am providing a link for is the Union Gospel Mission of Fort Worth. If you remember, this is the shelter that the Halls met Denver. It might be a pretty cool place to visit, and who knows? Maybe you will even see Ron and his lovely new wife! Union Gospel Mission: http://www.ugm-tc.org/.

Faith City Ministries is a great place to volunteer. They not only feed the poor, but they also cloth them and provide other material items they may need. Their website is: http://faithcity.org/.
If you need more encouragement, here is a video that describes exactly what they are all about.

Another Chance House is a place for homeless or low income males to find refuge. This would be a great place to volunteer if you are a guy looking for other guys to bond with. Their website is: http://www.anotherchancehouse.org/#.

Of course, there also has to be a shelter for just the ladies! Downtown Women's Center states their mission as, "To provide housing and services to overcome homelessness and addiction." It is incredibly easy to volunteer or provide financial support for the center. Their website is: http://www.dwcenter.org/index.php.

Martha's Home is another shelter in Amarillo. It mainly focuses on women that have children. They provide homes and services that teach homeless people how to survive on their own. Their website is: http://www.marthashome.org/index.php. Here is a video that describes Martha's Home and the work they do.

Family Support Center is a shelter that puts their main focus in families or individuals that have faced particularly rough times. These challenges include family violence, sexual assault, divorce, abuse, and more. If you feel a need to donate or volunteer here, their website is: http://fss-ama.org/.

The last website is actually a food bank rather than a shelter. The High Plains Food Bank works to feed the hungry in the Texas Panhandle. In fact, many schools in the Panhandle area raise canned foods to donate to the food bank. The High Plains Food Bank does not only provide food for those that need it, they also educate people about food stamps, CHiPS, and how to make good food choices. It is wonderfully easy to volunteer, and their website is: http://www.hpfb.org/home.

As you can see, there are many places people can go to volunteer. The websites I provided, apart from the Union Gospel Mission, are all in Amarillo, so imagine how many shelters are in the entire state of Texas! I encourage you to take Ron and Denver's message to heart and get involved!

Pictures for the Imagination

 I know I can't possibly be the only one who tries to picture what certain things look like while reading a book. For instance, in Same Kind of Different as Me, is Rocky Top really that extravagant? What do Ron's kids look like? I have a few pictures that will hopefully set the curious mind at ease.

Ron and Deborah Hall, 2000

Ron Hall and Denver Moore, 2009

Cotton fields Denver worked on the Plantation

Rocky Top

The Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth where Denver met the Halls

Debbie's grave

Ron's son, Carson and his wife, Megan

Ron's daughter, Regan and her family, Matt, Griffin, and Sadie Jane

Websites for further research on Ron Hall and Denver Moore include:

• http://www.samekindofdifferentasme.com/default.aspx
• http://www.denver-moore.com/
• http://www.ugm-tc.org/who-we-are/kind

Lastly, I am adding a video so you can hear Ron and Denver's stories. It is interesting to hear them talk about their incredible encounter.

You can find this video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T92fOwl1T54.

Life of the Authors

Same Kind of Different as Me is a biography, so readers already know all about the lives of Ron Hall and Denver Moore. You might be curious, however, about how their lives are today. It has been seven years since their book was published and thirteen years since Deborah died. In 2011, eleven years since Deborah passed, Ron remarried. Ron didn't just marry anyone. He married a fashion model! Her name is Beth Walker.

 You can read the full story of how Ron and Beth met at: http://www.weddingstylemagazine.com/real-weddings/persistent-in-love.

In 2009, Ron and Denver published What Difference Do It Make?. Just a few short years later, on March 31, 2012, Denver died in his sleep at his Dallas home. He is survived by his two daughters and two sons.

Denver's last ride.

Denver's family.

Denver's obituary can be found at: http://www.thejoyfm.com/carmen/2012/04/.

Denver's Art

So You Want to Know More?

Denver Moore's art is now being sold at The Cerulean Gallery, and some pieces are selling for $165! Not bad for a man that began his painting career at 65 years old!

Why Can't I Be An Angel Too?

Plantation Boss

Luke 8:16

 If you're curious, Luke 8:16 reads, "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light."

The Upper Room

More of Denver's art is featured at http://www.theceruleangallery.com/Denver%20Moore.htm.