From around the globe to building abilities at Capper… A.B. Charts His Path to Success

Over 30 years ago, a young boy named Abdallah “A.B.” Anwar who was born with cerebral palsy, moved over 7,300 miles away from his home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Topeka, Kansas to receive therapy services and an education. This unique circumstance occurred because A.B.’s great uncle Hamza happened to be friends with Edward Gibbons, President & CEO of Capper Foundation (1985-1992), and his parents knew after visiting the facility that it’s where A.B. needed to go and the rest is history as he has lived and worked in the United States ever since.

At the time that A.B. began receiving services, Capper Foundation had an on-site residence hall and academics program in addition to therapy services (occupational, physical, and speech) so he joined several other children, teens, and young adults living with disabilities in getting quality care all in one place, even learning to speak English. Eventually, the residence hall closed followed by transitioning school-aged individuals to public schools. A.B. lived with three host families through the years while completing his primary and secondary education and continuing his services at Capper until he started high school. “Capper opened the doors to a lot I’ve accomplished in my life and will always have a special place in my heart,” shared A.B.

After graduating from Topeka West High School, A.B. fulfilled his dream of going to college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising followed by a Master of Science degree in Advertising from Boston University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Pepperdine University. Today, A.B. resides in Los Angeles, California, and is employed as a Marketing Manager for an email hosting company and maintains his own YouTube channel sharing Mac automation and automation technology content. In his spare time, he loves to go to the movies, travel the world, and is a competitive and highly ranked Boccia player who has competed at the Boccia World Championships, and numerous Boccia World Cups as well as won the U.S. nationals multiple times. Boccia is an adaptive sport that A.B. discovered a passion for while playing the game with friends during his time at Capper Foundation.

Together, let’s continue to help children grow into adults who will one day contribute their thoughts, ideas, and actions to our communities just like A.B.

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