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FAQ
Salaam! So you want to learn more about Baba's Orphanage? You've come to the
right place.
Ask a Question
- Who are you?
- What's the idea?
- What's a cleft lip?
- Why are you doing this?
- What made you pick the charity SmileTrain?
-
Why
is this website called Baba's Orphanage?
- Are you kidding/Is this a
joke?
- Why is $250,000 the goal?
- What if you don't raise all
$250,000 before December 14th 2007?
- Why should I buy a room in Baba's
Orphanage?
- How long will the site be online?
-
Why is the movie's
release date your deadline?
- How can I help if I'm broke/don't have
paypal?
- How can I keep up with the progress of Baba's Orphanage?
1. Who are you?
My name is Kyle Swany and I played the part of Amir (the novel's
protagonist) in the official world premiere of the "Kite Runner" stage
adaptation at San Jose State University. Here's a picture of me on stage with
author Khaled Hosseini after the show's closing performance. The flyer Khaled is holding is for
BabasOrphanage.com!
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2. What's the idea?
Based on Khaled Hosseini's #1 NY Times bestselling novel "The Kite
Runner", this website aims to sell 10,000 "rooms" on the homepage for $25
each in order to raise $250,000 for SmileTrain: a charity that corrects
cleft lips on children just like the character Hassan had in "The Kite
Runner". To top things off, I'm trying to meet this goal before the Kite
Runner movie is released on December 14th, 2007.
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3. What's a cleft lip?
A cleft lip is a facial deformity specifically occuring on a person's lips.
Visit www.smiletrain.org to see for yourself.
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Before, when people would ask me on the street "Hey Kyle, how many world
premiere play adaptations of best-selling novels have you participated in
that have also preceded that novel's movie debut?" I've always had to hang
my head in shame and say zero, but now that I'm lucky enough to be able to
add a one to that zero I want to do something special. Something like
raising a quarter of a million dollars for a non-profit charity that's
related to the novel in a cool way. I want to blend the boundries between
fiction and reality and leverage the strength of Khaled Hosseini's novel to
bring a positive change to the world. A change fueled by the power of the
internet.
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5. What made you pick the charity SmileTrain?
In the novel "The Kite Runner" the main character, Amir, has a best friend
named Hassan who was born with a cleft lip. Later on in the story, Hassan
receives a surgery to correct his cleft lip. SmileTrain corrects cleft lips in
real life, which I believe makes SmileTrain the perfect charity for the cast
of "The Kite Runner" to support.
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6. Why is this website called Baba's Orphanage?
In "The Kite Runner" the main character's father is referred to as Baba,
and in the novel, he builds an orphanage. This website is about saving
children, so if you ask me, it's a perfect match. If you're wondering how correcting a child's
cleft lip "saves" them, check out this excerpt from the SmileTrain website:
"Being born with a cleft in a developing country is truly a curse. In fact,
every baby born in Uganda with a cleft is given the name Ajok which means
literally, “cursed by God.” And no one knows how many newborns with clefts
are killed or abandoned right after birth. And the ones who are lucky enough
to find a Smile Train free cleft surgery program, not only survive, they
thrive. After a 45 minute surgery hands them back their future, and a second
chance at life that they never thought they'd get."
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7. Are you kidding/Is this a joke?
It's all real. I'm a 21 year old college student looking to work together
with the rest of the original cast of Kite Runner to help less fortunate
children through Baba's Orphanage before the Kite Runner movie is released!
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8. Why is $250,000 the goal?
At SmileTrain, each cleft lip surgery costs $250. With $250,000, Baba's
Orphanage would change the lives of 1,000 children. That's a nice, round
number and a good goal to shoot for before the end of the year.
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9. What if you don't raise all $250,000 before December
14th 2007?
We'll give SmileTrain everything we've raised up until that point.
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10. Why should I buy a room in Baba's Orphanage?
Aside from those warm fuzzy feelings you'll get from helping us reach our
goal, the best part about buying a room in Baba's Orphanage is that your ad
will stay up for at least a year, and you only have to pay a one-time flat
fee. As more and more people discover Baba's Orphanage, your site will
naturally get more and more hits and you'll be glad that you got that room
before someone else did.
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11. How long will the site be online?
The domain is registered for a year, but I plan to keep renewing it so
that it stays online forever. I want to be able to visit this website years
from now and remember how exciting it was to raise money while racing the
debut of the "Kite Runner" movie.
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12. Why is the movie's release date your deadline?
I want clearly defined boundries for success and failure. By forcing
myself to reach this goal in less than a year, I'll naturally push myself to
work harder at getting this website seen by as many people as possible - and
let's not forget that the time pressure will make this a more interesting
site to come back and visit!
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13. How can I help if I'm broke/don't have paypal?
The best way for you to help Baba's Orphanage save all 1,000 children,
whether you can buy a room or not, is by participating in a little viral
marketing. Tell your friends what Baba's Orphanage is all about and tell
them to tell THEIR friends. Afterwards, send me an e-mail about how you were
able to spread the word, and I'll put your name on a long thank you list
that I'll post when we've accomplished our goal!
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14. How can I keep up with the progress of Baba's
Orphanage?
Subscribe to our RSS Feed to know when the website is updated:  I aim to update this site
frequently. Top
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