From Pittsburgh to Pakistan and Back

By Shannon Maughan, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 2/21/2008

Khadra Mohammed, co-author of the picture book Four Feet, Two Sandals (Eerdmans, Sept. 2007), recently returned from Pakistan, where she embarked on one of the most important author visits of her life. Four Feet, Two Sandals is about two girls finding friendship and kindness in a refugee camp on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. “After my book came out, I wanted to take it back to the kids who inspired it,” she said. “To me it was just as important as having the book published.” She accomplished her mission and much more.

Mohammed, who is executive director of the Pittsburgh Refugee Center, arranged a tour of refugee camps and schools in several Pakistani cities facilitated by her colleagues at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a relief agency. Her two-week visit enabled her to share her book with children and to draw attention to the terrible conditions many refugees must endure. “The reaction of these girls was unbelievable—the best reward I could have,” Mohammed said of her reception. “This was the first book about refugee children they had ever seen and they were very proud. And to see girls on the cover, they were thrilled.”

Children at a refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan
are intrigued by Four Feet, Two Sandals.
Photo courtesy of Khadra Mohammed.

Mohammed had her text translated into Pashton (the native language) so that the children could read it from sheets of paper while they looked at the book’s illustrations. She also donated 50 copies of the book (the most she could carry with her on the plane) to teachers, camp leaders and volunteers along her journey so it could be seen by as many children as possible.

A native of Somalia who has long worked with Afghani refugees, Mohammed was moved to create the book when a refugee girl asked Mohammed why there weren’t any stories about children like herself. Armed with many such stories, but recognizing her lack of expertise in the publishing world, Mohammed sought out Pittsburgh author Karen Lynn Williams. Mohammed and Williams, who has also worked internationally for children’s causes, discovered they shared a common vision on many issues, including the plight of refugees. Their collaboration soon yielded Four Feet, Two Sandals, with illustrations by Doug Chayka completing the project.

Members of Girl Scout Troop 407 in
Pittsburgh collected more than
100 pairs of shoes for refugees.

Mohammed’s and Williams’s advocacy efforts on behalf of refugees continue. They’ve teamed up for a forthcoming book about a Sudanese immigrant adjusting to life in the U.S. My Name Is Sangoel will be illustrated by Catherine Stock and is slated for publication by Eerdmans next year. In addition, as part of its campaign to raise awareness of and money for refugees worldwide, the Pittsburgh Refugee Center has donated $3,000 to UNHCR Pakistan Operations—funds raised from the proceeds received from the Center’s sale of copies of Four Feet, Two Sandals.

Others have been inspired by Mohammed’s mission as well. During her trip, children at the elite International School of Pakistan promised Mohammed that they would collect shoes for their less fortunate neighbors. “Some of these students didn’t even know they had refugee kids living right next to them,” Mohammed noted. “They really wanted to help.” And on Mohammed’s home turf, Girl Scout Troop 407 from the North Hill of Pittsburgh collected 110 pairs of brand-new shoes for refugees after reading Four Shoes, Two Sandals. Pittsburgh’s Baldwin-Whitehall School District (in which Mohammed lives) has undertaken a similar shoe drive. All of these efforts help “shed light on a situation that can so easily be overlooked,” said Mohammed. “For these children, something as basic as shoes can make a huge difference.”

Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed, illus. by Doug Chayka. Eerdmans, $17, 978-0-8028-5296-0 ages 7-10

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