By Mahasti Afshar,
Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA)
Dr. Pamela Ogor, a family
practitioner from Milwaukee, WI, and an associate, treating baby
Cecil Frederick.
Photo: Farshad Rastegar |
Los Angeles, CA - In the
aftermath of the devastating earthquakes that struck Haiti and Chile recently,
much of the world's attention has been focused on how relief and support can be
provided to the victims of these natural disasters. Central to this mission are
international aid agencies whose primary purpose is to provide crucial supplies
and services when no-one else can. Enter Iranian American Farshad Rastegar,
founder of the international aid organization, Relief International. Established
nearly 20 years ago, RI is a non-profit agency that provides emergency relief,
rehabilitation, development assistance, and program services to vulnerable
communities in over 20 countries worldwide.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Farshad Rastegar
to learn more about him, Relief International, and the role Iranian Americans
have played in the organization.
Afshar: Tell us about Relief International, its
mission, scope, and organization.
Rastegar:
Relief International was founded on June 20th 1990 initially in response to the
earthquake in Roudbar, Iran that killed some 50,000 people. When we registered
the organization as a non-profit a month later, we did so with the universal
mission of assisting natural and man-made disaster victims globally and with a
view towards bridging from relief to development. At the time transitioning
relief to development was a very novel idea because relief efforts were seen as
merely charity. Today the idea of "developmental relief" is much more acceptable
and is rather the yardstick organizations are measured against. We are still
working with communities impacted by the earthquake in Bam in Iran; but we are
also one of the major NGOs in places such as Darfur and Haiti.
Afshar: How did you first
get involved with RI?
Rastegar:
Right after the earthquake in Roudbar, many Iranian Americans had started
community based efforts to collect food, medicine, and other supplies. I
received a call from a friend to help in a warehouse that an Iranian American
businessman had donated. I was already busy at home calling pharmaceutical
companies to obtain medicine and also calling airlines to get free cargo space.
So I agreed to go volunteer for only two hours since I wanted to get back to the
calls. That turned into twenty years.
Afshar: Where has RI had
most impact to date?
Rastegar:
That is hard to say. We are in thousands of communities globally. For example,
as one of the few NGOs in Darfur for the past five years in a row we have been
caring for 250,000 people, literally keeping people safe and alive. At the same
time our doctors are saving lives in Haiti, others are helping feed tens of
thousands of malnourished children in Niger, while others are helping hundreds
of families in Indonesia rebuild their homes that were destroyed in the
earthquake. So it is hard to say if any one of these is more of an impact than
another. Each life is sacred. Each vulnerable community helped is deserving.
Also I would say that among the Iranian-American community we have had a
particular impact on how our community engages in philanthropy. We have moved
the compass from a traditional concept of charity based on handouts to the poor
to one of empowering communities in need. To bring the message home consider for
example that Relief International is able to match $20 in Federal funding for
every dollar that is donated privately. This means that as an institution we can
further the philanthropic and public interests of our community twenty-fold. In
essence we are multiplying the impact and the voice of our community in public
affairs in a very practical way.
Afshar:
Have other Iranian Americans been involved with RI? If so, in what capacity?
Rastegar:
Of course. Our very first 10 Board of Directors were all Iranian Americans.
These were all people who had helped with the Roudbar earthquake in one way or
another but had no connection to each other otherwise. Over the past twenty
years, the make up has changed. Until 2009 we had two Iranian Americans on the
Board. This year we have none at the moment but would love for some in the
community to step forward. There are also several staff members who are Iranian
Americans. As an equal opportunity employer we do not selectively recruit by
ethnicity. But with a global staff and volunteer of 1,500 of course it is
natural to have some Iranian Americans or Iranians from other countries. For me
of course it is very gratifying to have younger people from our community get
involved in this work, many of whom join us as interns in our offices in Los
Angeles, Washington, D.C., or San Francisco. And of course the Iranian-American
community remains our largest private donor base, a fact that we are very proud
of and that has allowed us to serve our community well I believe.
Afshar: Thank you, Mr.
Rastegar for sharing your time with us. Needless to say, you make us proud!
To learn
more about Relief International, please visit:
www.ri.org
... Payvand News - 03/12/10 ... --
