HOST: Caring viewers, welcome to Good People Good Works on Supreme Master Television. It is often said that the children are our future. In Iran, a group of dedicated individuals is providing for that future and giving children a nurturing and caring environment in which to grow. Their home is called the Forough e Mohabbat  House. This haven was founded in 2003 and is located in Mashhad, Iran’s holiest city.

The children living here are originally from homes in which the parents couldn’t give the required care and attention that the young ones need and deserve. The Forough e Mohabbat Charity Institute, which is recognized as a charity non-governmental organization by the Welfare Organization of Iran, started out with caring for five children. By 2006, a second home was established and houses 24 child residents, most of whom are brothers and sisters.

The Forough e Mohabbat homes have unique features that set them apart from other similar living environments for youngsters. For instance, special attention is paid to the residents’ individual emotional, physical and educational needs as well as to their interests and talents. The goal of the organization is to bring out the best in each resident and to provide them with a real family atmosphere so that they can grow up in a healthy setting and eventually contribute constructively to society.

We now join Ms. Ghazaleh Lotfi, the managing director of this noble organization to learn more about how it has evolved over the years.

Ms. Lotfi(f): From childhood I always had a dream to have many children and a big family, just like in the past when families were large. About five years ago, God created some opportunities for me so that I could get acquainted with the members of The Center for Placement for Street Children. Actually I used to go there as a volunteer, but as I got to know more about them I felt closer to them. This encouraged me to decide, with the help of a few friends, to set up a small house and bring these children to our own house. Our motto and our goal was to set up a home for these kids and I wanted these kids to rebuild and re-discover their lost lives and families.


You are kinder than leaves inviting kisses of the raindrops
You are like the reflection of stars in the eyes of the stream

The reflections of your glances are like the harmonious reflections of the morning coast
Your sporadic smiles are like a morning full of stars

Ms. Lotfi(f): After a few years, as the Forough e Mohabbat further developed and many more kids joined the group, we noticed that the boys had some sisters who were being looked after in other centers elsewhere. We thought that if these girls joined their brothers here, then we have kind of truly reached our goal. And God also helped us. Near the home for the boys we rented another house and their sisters joined them. From then on, the Forough e Mohabbat big family was formed. With God’s help and many people, we hope that Forough e Mohabbat will enjoy better facilities so that we can accept more children, and this home and family further develop. One of my biggest dreams is to form a “Forough e Mohabbat Village,” where children can work together, live together, build their own families, and generally live together without any intrusion. With God’s help I am confident that my dream will come true.

HOST: Providing educational opportunities for the children is very important at the Forough e Mohabbat homes. Apart from science and math and other typical subjects found in a standard school curriculum, the children are taught music, which is both part of their studies and also a form of therapy to help the youngsters deal with their emotions. Music is taught in close collaboration with the Khorasan Music Therapy Association. Initially the students learn to play simple instruments and then graduate on to more complex ones such as the and the setar


The children use their musical talents and perform at concerts to raise money to expand the Forough e Mohabbat program so that more deserving kids can be provided with the same love and care that they receive. Let’s now talk with Dr. Ramin Zafari, head of the board of directors for the Forough e Mohabbat Charity Institute, to learn more about these concerts.

Dr. Ramin Zafari: In the name of God, it’s almost five years that the Forough e Mohabbat family has been formed and it has a long history. In brief, I’d like to add that the origins of Forough e Mohabbat go back to the Music Therapy Society in The Center for Placement for Street Children. The Music Therapy Society started its activities with the children, and after a while the children were able to perform in concerts.

This was the first concert performed by the children of the Music Society, and it was called “The Statute of Kindness.” This concert was performed in the winter of 2003 and created such a rapport among the members of the Society, the experts and the children, that this rapport continued and was further developed and finally led to the first seeds in formation of the Forough e Mohabbat Home.

Dr. Ramin Zafari: In our studies in using music for healing children and improving their moods and outlook, we came to the important conclusion that music has many constructive effects. We are truly a family, and one of our characteristics is our love for Iranian traditional culture. With this deep sense of love for Iranian music, we try to more and more develop in this field and in understanding and appreciating Iran’s noble culture.

Girl: I am Sabaa Shakibaii-far. I am in seventh grade. I am a member of the choir.

Boy: My name is Javad Fahimi. I am in the fifth grade. I will be a sixth grader. I am 12 years old and I specialize in the tonbak. It’s two years that I have been playing the tonbak, and I am a member of the percussion instruments’ group in the F.M. (Forough e Mohabbat).

HOST: Let’s enjoy an excerpt of a performance by the children about their feelings regarding the Forough e Mohabbat home.

F: Gentle and kind hands were stretched before us
M: And played a heavenly music in our lives
F: The heavenly music taught us that
M: Like a leaf who accepts the kisses of the rain with utmost kindness
F: We too, should accept the kind hands offering us help
M: Perhaps, this is awakening of our lucky star
F: The reflection of their glances, in the darkness of our night, was a bright sunrise for us
M: And it showed us the coastlines towards our freedom
F: The kind smiles, showered stars upon the morn of our lives
M: Oh water of streams; do not shy away from the leaf’s shadows
F: Many were who likewise lost the opportunities
M: We heed this advice and appreciated this renewed opportunity
F: We chose life
M: And we stayed in the shadows of this loving home
F: With them, we began to sing songs of love
M: And this is how Forough e Mohabbat became our home.

HOST: Religious values and traditional Iranian culture also play an important role in the lives of the residents. The children study the Qur’an. Arts such as painting and handicrafts are encouraged along with sports such as football. Another special activity in which all the residents participate is yoga, because it provides good exercise and allows the children to control and release their emotions.

Here is another one of the wonderfully talented and gifted residents from the home.

Hodaa: My name is Hodaa Zafari. I am in seventh grade and I am 15 years old. I am the speaker of the choir. My friends express their feelings and stories with their music instruments; and in-between the songs, I recite the memories of my life for the audience; I hope they will like it.

You are kinder than leaves inviting the kisses of the raindrops
You are like the reflection of stars in the eyes of a stream

The reflections of your glances are like the harmonious reflections of the morning coast
Your sporadic smiles are like a morning full of stars

Come back; in my longing for you, in silence,
Amongst the stones of the mountains, my craziness started to howl

Oh water of streams, do not shy away from the leaf’s shadow
Many there were who likewise lost the opportunities

You said once my love was in your heart
I said even the passage of time may not diminish this love from the heart

Our separation grew manifold beyond limits, Oh my friend,
Do not leave this lover, ashamed and most regretful

Before you and I there were many who
Upon the walls of life left many remembrances

This tune of kindness will be left behind even after you and I depart
So long as songs of wind and rain remain, the songs of our love will also endure.

HOST: What a lovely and touching song! We would like to take this opportunity to thank the dedicated staff of the Forough e Mohabbat Charity Institute in Mashhad, Iran who selflessly strive to improve the lives of children who need much love and attention.

We also applaud the young ones for their bravery, nobility and beautiful musical performances. May Allah bless all children with caring homes and all the nurturing experiences they need to lead the world to future peace and harmony.

For more details on Forough e Mohabbat Charity Institute
please visit www.foroughemohabbat.com/eng/