Sahar Fetrat — the focus of the proposed Journeys to the Edge documentary Mightier Than the Sword, to be shot in Kabul in 2015 — has just arrived in Los Angeles as a translator and escort for Arefa, a young Afghan girl who was badly burned last year in Afghanistan. Arefa is receiving medical help in LA through the non-profit organization Solace for the Children, which partners with medical professionals and community leaders as well as Afghans to provide medical, dental and optical care for children in Afghanistan. Solace selects Afghan children aged seven to 12 — most of whom are survivors of hostilities — and matches them with communities in the United States. Arefa is being joined in the U.S. by 10 other Afghan children who need medical care such as prosthetic fittings or surgery for war-related injuries. “I volunteer for this program with all my heart,” says Sahar. “It is a life-changing program.” During her four-week stay in Los Angeles, Sahar will not only help Arefa but assist with fund raising for Solace through public speaking engagements.
