Carts – and kids – like this are everywhere in Kabul.

One person will own dozens of these carts and employ boys like this to peddle water, Pepsi and other soft drinks and snacks. They’re as common as hot dog stands in New York City.

“There are hundreds of them,” said Dr. Mark Scoffield, chief executive director of American Medical Overseas Relief, or AMOR. The Fresno-based nonprofit helped opened Afshar Hospital in Kabul, and is working to open other medical centers in Asia and other needy regions.

This particular cart was only yards from the hospital, which is in the southwest portion of the sprawling city. This young entrepreneur was always ready with a smile - and is among the population Afshar's dedicated medical staff is trying to save .

A group of doctors and developers formed AMOR and privately financed Afshar Hospital. The facility opened in April 2009 with about 800 patients per month. Now, the 110 Afghan employees treat more than 4,000 people each month.

The hospital's target audience is children and mothers, but the doctors will treat anyone who comes. The goal is to reduce the high mortality rate - 40% of all children in Afghanistan die before reaching the age of 5 and one of every four mothers dies giving birth - and to improve the quality of health care throughout the country.

The dedicated staff is saving lives, including a 4-day-old baby a few months ago. He had a fever of 104 degrees and was only hours from perishing.

Contributions of any size to American Medical Overseas Relief will be used to continue efforts to develop an efficient medical delivery system and improve the quality of care that patients receive. More information can be found and donations made at http://www.amorelief.org.