SHER DIL & GAY LE-CLERC QADERI

Through their organization, Friends for Afghan Redevelopment (FAR), Sher Dil and Gay Le-Clerc Qaderi raise money for school supplies and clothing for Afghan children. They also bring Afghan women to the United States to train them in the principles of small business development.

Shortly after the tragic events of September 11th, the Qaderis formed an organization to aid Afghans in rebuilding their country. FAR is working to better the lives of all Afghans through two principal programs. First, it raises money to purchase school supplies, clothing and medical services. Second, FAR selects Afghan women to come to America for five weeks. During this time they are shown and taught small business development skills.

Sher Dil Qaderi is originally from Afghanistan. He shies away from stories of his youth. He does not like to talk about the fact that he was a son in a family of nobility, a teen-age guerilla warrior or a freedom fighter who broke Muslim law and left his land to secretly marry an American woman. At the age of 13, in 1980, he joined the Afghan freedom fighters in their campaign against the Russians. The revered Ahrnad Shah Massoud led the freedom fighters, a man who was later assassinated by the Taliban shortly before September 11th. He does like to talk about his many returns to his homeland. During the past year, they have traveled back and forth to the war-torn land to help build schools, orphanages and provide relief work.

Gay Le-Clerc is also not a stranger to efforts related to the Afghan people. In 1984, she set up a field hospital on the Pakistani-Afghan border. This infirmary provided much needed medical assistance to people who would have gone without.

The Qaderis believe that the future of Afghanistan can only be assured by educating its people. FAR, with a first class board of directors of some of Nevada’s most prominent individuals, is their vehicle for achieving their dream of not only a better Afghanistan, but also of a better world. In addition to contributing to medical clinics, schools and technology, the Qaderis will also be building relationships between the Afghan people and Americans. They share the belief that you begin peace in the world by building upon commonalities, not differences.