Faisal, center, a 12-year-old from Afghanistan, plays ball with his Solace program host family in Torrance. (Barbara Davidson, Los Angeles Times / June 13, 2012) It doesn't matter what language the children speak. In the argot of their world, a ball is meant to be kicked, tossed or thrown.
And even though most of these six kids from Afghanistan had never seen the ocean close up, they could understand that it, too, was meant to be played with.
"The biggest impression I've got the last few weeks is that kids are just kids," said Matt Dixon, 37, whose family recently hosted one of the children, all of whom were in the U.S. for at least six weeks to receive medical care and enjoy a brief respite from war. The children visited Redondo Beach recently as part of a program run by Solace, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping pediatric patients. During their stay in the Los Angeles area, the children received free medical attention and had their eyes and teeth checked.
Most of the kids spent a week playing along the shore as part of Hammerhead Beach Camp. Hammerhead owners Bruce Kocsis and Jamie Bateman, who opened the camp in 1997 in Manhattan Beach, decided to join forces with Solace and donated a week at the new Redondo Beach location.
"I would love to do this every year," Bateman said.
The children played dodge ball at the camp with local youngsters, learned — or tried to learn — how to surf, kicked sand and didn't have to worry about the dangers in their war-torn homeland.
"Yeah. Yeah. We are best friends. We are good," Faisal, 12, said of the local kids at the camp. Solace, out of safety concerns, asked that the children be identified only by their first names.
Last year Solace sent Faisal to Florida for medical treatment — "There the water is warm and now it's a little bit cold," he said.
But he still dived in, wading with local children who rode the waves on their boogie-boards and were much stronger swimmers. Faisal was one of the last to leave the water when the camp counselor asked everyone to come back, as if trying to soak up every bit.
Faisal served as one of the unofficial translators because he's learning English at the school he attends in Kabul. He smiles but has a serious tone and stands with his hands together behind his back. He was in the program because of suspected heart problems — what turned out to be a small murmur. During his stay he also had his eyes checked.
"He definitely needed glasses," said Nicole Svendsen, Solace's L.A.-branch coordinator. "He has horrible eyesight."
This is Solace's eighth year running the program, but it's only been in the L.A. area for three years. The program manages 200 host families across seven states and boasts that for every $1 donation, doctors donate $10 of medical aid.
Dr. Joanna Wong, a Manhattan Beach pediatrician, said this was her second year donating free medical services. She looked over all six children, referring them to specialists who also donate their services.
"It really opens everyone's eyes to the resilience of the human spirit," Wong said, "and how lucky we are here in America."
Many of the kids are referred to Solace by U.S. troops — "They gave me a soccer ball and chocolate and soda. They are good," Faisal said — while others come here through Solace's Kabul office.
Faisal misses his family but said, "I think David is like my father in Afghanistan, so I don't miss them too much."
David Schmidt, Faisal's host, said this was his second year hosting. He and Faisal spent a lot of time playing soccer and various basketball games. Schmidt laughed as he remembered having to tell Faisal the goal wasn't to spell "horse" first.
Schmidt also remembers being surprised by how mature the 12-year-old was.
"What should we do to help Afghanistan?" he remembers asking Faisal. "Should we build schools or parks?"
Faisal told Schmidt that without peace in Afghanistan, there is no use for schools.
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