Arash Usmanee was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and moved to Alberta, Canada with his family in 1994, when he was twelve years old. Growing up in Alberta, he faced many challenges – being a newcomer and learning to navigate life in a new world. At a young age, “boxing found him” and he found an outlet in boxing. He was on the Canadian National Team and won 8 Golden Glove Championships, 8 Alberta Championships, 5 Canadian Championships, and 2 Ringside World Championships. He saw boxing as a way of providing for his family and as a door to other opportunities. Even as a child, he dreamed of helping the widows and orphans in Afghanistan. He would dream of having a place for the orphans to go to and call their home. Boxing was the avenue he wanted to use. He would always say, “Once I make it, I will take care of everyone around me.”
In 2008, he went professional and had his first fight January 2009. In January 2013, he lost on points in a controversial decision to Cuban fighter Rances Barthelemy, on Friday Night Fights. According to many observers, Arash had clearly won the fight.
In August 2013, he received his first shot at a world title in a fight against IBF Junior Lightweight titleholder Argenis Mendez. At this time, he was ranked #3 in the WBA and #10 in the IBF world ranking. The fight ended in a draw with one judge scoring the fight for Usmanee (115-113) and the two others scoring it a draw (114-114). The draw meant Mendez retained the title.
As he was advancing in his professional career, he was also getting closer to his faith and learning more about Islam. He began to question how acceptable it was to be involved in a sport where the main goal was to punch someone in the face or knock them down – or just hurt someone, in general, for entertainment. Islam was about peace and love and forbade the striking of another in the face. If that was not a hard enough internal struggle, he was also getting exposed to the corruption that the boxers face in this sport. From managers who stole, to promoters who manipulated, to the overall politics involved in the sport, there was a lot of wrong he was seeing around him and he didn’t feel right being a part of it. The final decision came when his management left him stranded in Las Vegas, with no where to go.
He took this as a sign and moved back to Alberta. The holy month of Ramadan came and Arash spent a lot of reflecting on where he wanted his life to go and what he wanted to achieve in his life. He made the decision to leave boxing for the sake of his religion and to find a different path to change the world. Today, he is married and a devoted of father three. He is also a full-time caregiver for his mother, who lost use of her right side after a stroke 12 years ago. He is also establishing his roofing business in the Mississauga and GTA area. And, he is still as passionate as ever to help those in need. Except he has realized he does not need boxing or any other avenue to allow him to give to humanity. All you need is a kind heart.
THE BACKBONE
Mohammad Zikriya Baraki is the Project Lead for our Afghanistan campaigns. He is the arms, the legs, and the backbone of this organization. Born and raised in Qalacha, Bagrami, in the province of Kabul, and currently living in the city of Kabul, Mr. Baraki (known to everyone as Uncle Zikriya) is a humble man who comes from a long-lived tradition of feeding the hungry and providing for the poor. To give to those who have less is a duty and a way of life for him and his family.
Before him, his father had established the practice of looking after the widows and orphans in their village. For many years now, Mr. Baraki has provided food items like flour, rice, sugar, dried beans and chick peas to 200-300 families every year, just from the funds put together by his family and close friends. Over the years, he has established a list of all the people in need of financial support, in the surrounding villages in the outskirts of Kabul. Every year, the list gets updated based on the needs and current living conditions of the people on the list. While we focus mostly on the families living in the outskirts of the city and smaller villages, there are a number of families we help within the city as well.
We are very blessed to have Mr. Baraki working with us and heading the campaigns in Afghanistan!
THE FOUNDER