Karadah Project in the Media
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January 21, 2019
Karadah Project was part of a core group of organizations that brought together over 300 members of the Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and refugee communities in Omaha, Nebraska to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. day. The event included Afghan food, fellowship, service, and compelling words from faith, education, and nonprofit leaders . The event was made possible through a grant from Islamic Relief USA and coordinated by the Veterans for American Ideals-Omaha team in collaboration with more than half a dozen partners from the faith, nonprofit, and education communities—Beth El Synagogue, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-Omaha Stake, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Tri-Faith Initiative, the Goldstein Center for Human Rights, Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, and Karadah Project International. |
December 4-6, 2018
Karadah Project hosted Jamshid Sultanzada, a young IT entrepreneur from Herat, Afghanistan. Jamshid is also a leader within the local Herat Rotary Club. In honor of Jamshid and the Herat-Council Bluffs Sister Cities partnership, the Council Bluffs Sister Cities Association hosted a dinner where Jamshid gave a presentation on his company, PomTech ICT. His company began with ten employees and has now grown to thirty with a robust internship program that is increasing the marketability of recent graduates from local Herat universities. While in the United States, he visited US and potential clients, spent time with Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh, visited the Council Bluffs Rotary Club, and saw local sights.
Karadah Project hosted Jamshid Sultanzada, a young IT entrepreneur from Herat, Afghanistan. Jamshid is also a leader within the local Herat Rotary Club. In honor of Jamshid and the Herat-Council Bluffs Sister Cities partnership, the Council Bluffs Sister Cities Association hosted a dinner where Jamshid gave a presentation on his company, PomTech ICT. His company began with ten employees and has now grown to thirty with a robust internship program that is increasing the marketability of recent graduates from local Herat universities. While in the United States, he visited US and potential clients, spent time with Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh, visited the Council Bluffs Rotary Club, and saw local sights.
November 14, 2018
Karadah Project arranged for students at Abraham Lincoln High School to meet with Irina Karmanova, Public Affairs officer at the US Department of State. Ms Karmanova congratulated the students on their citizen diplomacy efforts and answered questions about what it is like being a diplomat. The Iowa students are engaged in #CitizenDiplomacy through their partnership with high school students in Herat, Afghanistan. This project is part of the larger Herat-Council Bluffs Sister Cities partnership initiative. 
November 14, 2018
KMTV Channel 3 coverage of US State Department Diplomat Irina Karmanova's visit with Abraham Lincoln High School students and our partnership with a high school in Afghanistan to provide stuff animals to children in internally displaced persons camps. Click Here 
November 12, 2018
Karadah Project president and co-founder of Veterans for American Ideals Nebraska-Iowa chapter participated in a veterans program at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The inaugural Veterans for American Ideals Nebraska-Iowa event included an exhibition entitled #WhatIFoughtFor and a panel discussion about the unique relationships between military veterans and refugees. It included stories about danger, heroism, fears, anxieties, uncertainty, financial concerns, more uncertainty, the efforts of veterans on behalf of refugee friends, and finally being welcomed by new friends in Omaha, Nebraska. 
November 12, 2018
Karadah Project president Rick Burns delivered a presentation to the Loess Hills Learners at Iowa Western Community College about Council Bluffs Sister Cities, Sister Cities International, Veterans for American Ideals Nebraska-Iowa, Rotary International, the incredible people he works with in Iraq and Afghanistan, Karadah Project, and a lot more. |
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November 11, 2018
Karadah Project's president Rick Burns ended #VeteransDay 2018 by hanging out online with high school students in Afghanistan and Iowa. These #CitizenDiplomats are planning a joint project to support children in internally displaced persons camps in Herat, Afghanistan. How cool is that?
Karadah Project's president Rick Burns ended #VeteransDay 2018 by hanging out online with high school students in Afghanistan and Iowa. These #CitizenDiplomats are planning a joint project to support children in internally displaced persons camps in Herat, Afghanistan. How cool is that?
November 11, 2018
Karadah Project finished out its second flag fundraiser. This fundraiser helped put 400 hens in the hands of displaced and rural women in Herat (Afghanistan) Province. Our team of volunteers put flags in yards in Elk Horn and Kimballton, Iowa on eight flag-appropriate holidays. We are already collecting subscriptions and hope to grow the number of flags to 100 or more in 2019.
Karadah Project finished out its second flag fundraiser. This fundraiser helped put 400 hens in the hands of displaced and rural women in Herat (Afghanistan) Province. Our team of volunteers put flags in yards in Elk Horn and Kimballton, Iowa on eight flag-appropriate holidays. We are already collecting subscriptions and hope to grow the number of flags to 100 or more in 2019.
October 25, 2018
Karadah Project president Rick Burns participated in the Kansas City, Missouri signing of the official proclamation recognizing the Sister Cities Friendship Partnership between Kabul, Afghanistan and Kansas City, Missouri.
Karadah Project president Rick Burns participated in the Kansas City, Missouri signing of the official proclamation recognizing the Sister Cities Friendship Partnership between Kabul, Afghanistan and Kansas City, Missouri.
November 5, 2018
Karadah Project President Rick Burns along with the Kabul-Kansas City committee participated in the Kansas City, Missouri Sister Cities board of director official recognition of the Friendship partnership. Rick Burns also serves as the Sister Cities International country representative for Afghanistan and helped facilitate this partnership.
Karadah Project President Rick Burns along with the Kabul-Kansas City committee participated in the Kansas City, Missouri Sister Cities board of director official recognition of the Friendship partnership. Rick Burns also serves as the Sister Cities International country representative for Afghanistan and helped facilitate this partnership.
June 2, 2018
Karadah Project president Rick Burns spoke at the Rotary International Peacebuilding Conference. He shared examples of the life-changing impact of education on the lives of women and girls.
Listen Here
He based his remarks on an article he wrote about four women whose lives have been be significantly impacted by their access to education--an experience that would have not been conceived of a mere 15-20 years ago.
Click below to read the article
Four Afghan Women
Karadah Project president Rick Burns spoke at the Rotary International Peacebuilding Conference. He shared examples of the life-changing impact of education on the lives of women and girls.
Listen Here
He based his remarks on an article he wrote about four women whose lives have been be significantly impacted by their access to education--an experience that would have not been conceived of a mere 15-20 years ago.
Click below to read the article
Four Afghan Women
July 21, 2016
Rick Burns is a retired Army lieutenant colonel from Elk Horn, Iowa, who spent about a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan on three separate military deployments. His takeaway was that these war-torn places, while difficult, had potential and that it took relationships and investment in people to bring about real change. He pushed to establish a Sister Cities friendship between Council Bluffs and a subdistrict of Baghdad, called Karadah. Then he started a nonprofit called Karadah Project International to help fund sustainable projects.
Burns also pushed for this recent Sister Cities partnership between Council Bluffs and Herat. Even though Afghanistan has a long way to go, he said he is inspired by the optimism and energy that this rising political class seems to show.
He said the bridges being built between his corner of western Iowa and Herat and Baghdad are crucial plays in the long game of what he called “citizen diplomacy.”
(Erin Grace, "Afghans arrive to embrace sister city Bluffs and to share their passion and hope."
Rick Burns is a retired Army lieutenant colonel from Elk Horn, Iowa, who spent about a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan on three separate military deployments. His takeaway was that these war-torn places, while difficult, had potential and that it took relationships and investment in people to bring about real change. He pushed to establish a Sister Cities friendship between Council Bluffs and a subdistrict of Baghdad, called Karadah. Then he started a nonprofit called Karadah Project International to help fund sustainable projects.
Burns also pushed for this recent Sister Cities partnership between Council Bluffs and Herat. Even though Afghanistan has a long way to go, he said he is inspired by the optimism and energy that this rising political class seems to show.
He said the bridges being built between his corner of western Iowa and Herat and Baghdad are crucial plays in the long game of what he called “citizen diplomacy.”
(Erin Grace, "Afghans arrive to embrace sister city Bluffs and to share their passion and hope."