Jawed, the father of the seven Sayedzada children, needs our help so that he can fully own the restaurant he opened late last year (see pictures) and which is the sole source of income for his family. Jawed saved for years to start this business by working in local kitchens as a chef and server and driving for rideshare companies. Now he needs to pay back a loan that made it possible to build out the kitchen and bring his vision to life. While raising the full amount is wonderful, any significant portion still helps him quite a bit.
The Sayedzada family is well loved and known in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood and particularly at Duniway which was the first school their children attended after arriving as refugees from Afghanistan. They are a cherished part of the community though a boundary issue caused them to change schools earlier this year.
I've been friends with Jawed for many years now, and you'll never meet a harder working, more generous, more savvy entrepreneur who is working every day to prove that some semblance of the American dream can still exist. He has brought food from his restaurant to all the teachers at Cleveland and participated in Dining for Duniway as well.
Heart of Kabul has 5 stars from nearly 200 google reviews and is truly a labor of love. Here's an article form the Bee which tells the story. https://thebeenews.com/2025/12/06/afghan-refugee-realizes-dream-with-new-restaurant-on-powell-blvd/#google_vignette
This community came together once before in an astounding act of generosity and helped the family afford the rental home they still call home today. Jawed told me he'd never imagined an entire community could come together and demonstrate such generosity rather than just relying solely on family. Any contribution, big or small, will make a meaningful difference. Jawed would love to thank you for your donation with an appetizer on the house. Just show the "Thank you" email we'll send to each donor.
Below I've included the full story of how the Sayedzada's came the the US and how Jawed got his start as a cook for the US Army.
Jawed grew up in Afghanistan. He was the oldest boy in a family of 5 daughters and 5 sons. When he was very young, the Taliban tried to extort his father who refused to give them money he didn't have and so his father was shot in front of him and died the next day at the hospital. From that point on, Jawed became the provider for the family despite his young age. Through years of hard work, he was able to provide an education for his brothers and sisters. He had a successful business and worked as a cook for the United States Army and NATO during the war with Afghanistan. During this time, Jawed owned a large house that was home to his wife and their growing family, his mother, and his sister's family. They were a happy and thriving family with so much love and support and so much hope.
When the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, Jawed faced the terrible truth that he had to leave his life behind. He'd already lost his father to the Taliban and he knew how bad things could get. Because he'd worked for the US Army and for NATO, he and his family qualified for a special visa that allowed them to come to the United States as part of Operation Allies Welcome. But we all know there weren't nearly enough flights out and the Taliban were already in Kabul. He and his wife and their (then) six children spent seven hellish days trying to reach the airport gates. One day Jawed finally made his way to the gates and in the sea of other people was able to hold up his Operation Allies Welcome paperwork and a solider waved him through but they still needed to make their way back through the crowd for Jawed's wife and children which the soldiers helped him do. They were bruised and traumatized and their journey was far from over, but they made it.