History
Since the Kuwait-America Foundation was established in 1991, our organization has grown and our efforts have expanded, empowering individuals, supporting communities, and bolstering intercultural relationships at every step.
Use the arrows to explore some of our major milestones in the timeline below.
In May 1991, Kuwait-America Foundation (KAF) was established. Following Kuwait’s liberation from Iraqi occupation in February 1991, KAF was first created to fund humanitarian, educational and cultural programs in the United States as gratitude to the American people for their support during the first Gulf War.
In early 1992, Dr. Hassan Al-Ebraheem, Chairman of the Kuwait-America Foundation, together with Pam Hall, an American living in Kuwait, created the Desert Peace Program, “to bring to Kuwait families of Americans who had lost their lives in the the effort to liberate Kuwait.” One of KAF’s first activities was in conjunction with the Kuwaiti Association to Defend War Victims (KADWA). The two organizations co-hosted a reception in Washington, D.C. for a delegation of fifteen Kuwaiti associations visiting Washington, D.C. Dr. Ghanim Al-Najjar, KADWA’s chairman, led the delegation of board members who represented Kuwaiti doctors, lawyers, sociologists, accountants, pilots, economists, engineers, university graduates, labor leaders and others. The delegation met with human rights groups, religious groups, POW/MIA associations, and U.S. government officials. Dr. Al-Najjar described the visit’s primary purpose as “an opportunity to thank the American people for their tremendous support and sacrifice in pursuit of the liberation of our peaceful nation.”
At the end of April 1993, approximately 200 family members of Americans who lost their lives in the effort to liberate Kuwait visited Kuwait for one week. The participants experienced first-hand the country which members of their families had fought to free, becoming acquainted with the many Kuwaiti families who, like themselves, had also lost loved ones during the Gulf War. During their stay in Kuwait, the relatives (mostly wives and mothers) of the fallen American soldiers met with countless Kuwaiti officials eager to meet and host separate ceremonies for them. They also had the opportunity to meet with typical Kuwaiti families, who hosted luncheons in their homes for every single family, during which they spent hours conversing and providing the Americans with an up-close view of the society their relatives had given their lives to save. Several Desert Peace participants explained that the experience, more than any effort made by the U.S. government to console them for their loss, helped them to understand the people their loved ones had died to liberate. 1993
In 2020, in light of the deadly explosion that rocked Beirut, Lebanon on August 4th, the Kuwait-America Foundation partnered with Lebanese diaspora organizations, SEAL , LIFE, LebNet — joined by Jamhour Alumni (in Europe and the US) to form a unified humanitarian effort under the Beirut Emergency Fund 2020, collaborating with Impact Lebanon on the allocation and disbursement of funds. The partnership raised nearly $9 million for Lebanon.
In the spring of 1994, KAF launched Do the Write Thing (DtWT) in Washington, D.C. DtWT is a unique education program designed to give middle school students an outlet to communicate in classroom discussions and written form how violence impacts their daily lives. In addition to exposing the causes and impact of violence, students are asked to identify what they will do to address these problems. By emphasizing personal responsibility, DtWT ultimately seeks to empower young people to reduce violence in their communities. 1994
In July of 1995, KAF and the Greater Washington Urban League (GWUL) formed the Do the Write Thing Community Peace Partnership to administer a Washington D.C. DtWT Internship Program. Through an eight-week summer program that included three weeks of corporate internships and three weeks of community-based organization internships, participants were offered positive experiential employment opportunities and leadership development. 1995
In 1996, KAF supported the Launch and national expansion of the DtWT program, working with students in more than 50 communities.
In 2005, KAF expanded its efforts globally by partnering with organizations to assist refugees, improve education, provide quality healthcare, and fight poverty and disease worldwide. In 2005, KAF raised more than $1 million to benefit USA for UNHCR in its efforts to assist Iraqi refugees, mainly women and children, wishing to return home.
In 2002, KAF was the hosting sponsor for Arab filmmaker, Walid Al-Awadi’s film, “Dreams Without Sleep.” Critically acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival, the feature-length documentary captures the diverse experiences of five New Yorkers as they reflect on the events of September 11th, 2001.
In 2009, KAF raised over $1.8 million to benefit Conservation International in support of their efforts to harness nature as a solution to climate change.
In 2012, KAF raised over $2 million to benefit Women’s World Banking (WWB) and the creation of endowment funds that provided microcredit loans to women in Egypt, Tunisia, and Lebanon
In 2012, KAF helped raise funds for the See Forever Foundation/Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., hosting an evening with President Bill Clinton and Dr. Maya Angelou. 2012
Between 2015-2019, KAF raised over 4 million dollars for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in its efforts to help Syrian refugees in the Middle East.
In 2008, Do the Write Thing celebrates it’s 25th Anniversary , surpassing X amount of writings or participants.