Aria Project for Afghanistan

Dear Aria Project Supporters,

Background On Aria Project: I went to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2010 to volunteer-teach in 4 orphanages and have remained in contact with several of the students these last 11 years. When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, many of my students, now adults with families, contacted me asking for help. Several of these former students had moved on to earn college degrees and become successful in their fields - engineering, economics, dentistry, medicine and computer science - while others served in the Afghan Army. When the Taliban took over their country, they were forbidden to work and all females were required to quit their jobs and stay indoors. Educated people, as well as anyone previously involved with the Afghan Army or humanitarian efforts, have been marked as traitors to Islam and their names remain on lists, while the Taliban harass their neighbors and search for them from house to house.  These circumstances have caused several of my students and their families to go into hiding or to flee into neighboring countries.

Our Work Over The Last 3 Months: All of these things happen while regular life events continue. In the last several months, my students have asked for financial assistance to help pay their rent, get their cars repaired and help their families with medical expenses. This is in addition to helping with the inflated costs of food and heat through a very cold Afghan winter. 

The suffering in Afghanistan has ramped up severely due to families no longer being able to support themselves. Afghans have been forced from their homes for not being able to pay $128/month in rent. The pressure of survival creates an immense suffering where people are faced with choices that human beings should never have to make (“Which child do I feed?”). The fear of being arrested or killed by the Taliban is constant and it is real.

Dear Donors, you have helped to keep families together and in their homes. Your efforts have kept these people fed and warm. You have also greatly contributed to the cost of doctor appointments that addressed illnesses ranging from ear infections to seizures, including one gallbladder removal. Your donations have helped pay for passport fees, vaccines for babies, and late-night transportation to safer locations.

When the Taliban announced girls would no longer be able to attend school, one of my former students requested a small donation to purchase a whiteboard and some notebooks and pencils so that she could teach English and math to some of the children in her district. Not only was this an act of brave defiance, it also created purpose and community for several children who had been devastated by the Taliban’s cruel disregard for their futures.

Overcoming Obstacles: I’d also like to share that getting the money to these families was a challenge initially. Right after the Taliban took over, banks closed at random due to the high demand (and low supply) of cash. After several roadblocks, I was put in touch with a few people in another West Asian country who were willing to transfer funds to a Money Exchange store in Afghanistan. Coordinating with these contacts has proven crucial to getting the families the financial assistance we all want to provide. Those in the third country have become good friends and very trustworthy allies in this effort. While my side of the transfer was made easier, actually receiving the money has not. It is a grueling process for the family member tasked with retrieving it. I could only send to men to assure they had the most mobility outside the home. In order to get the funds, they had to line up at the bank at 3:00 a.m. to wait for the doors to open five hours later. Once the doors did open, those in line were given a number and told to wait for their number to be called before entering the bank. Every time I sent a transfer, I was sending someone out in the middle of the night to wait in the cold. To date, all transfers have been received in full and all recipients have gotten in and out of the bank and back to their loved ones without incident.

Gratitude: I want to thank each and every person who has contributed to this effort financially or by passing it on to others for awareness. Words hardly begin to express the appreciation I have for your donations and the compassion you’ve shown for the people of Afghanistan, and I especially thank you for the work you have allowed me to do these last several months to help multiple families I know personally – work I certainly hope to continue. And I offer a special thank you to Theodore Mayer and Melissa Storms of the School of English for Engaged Social Service (SENS). Theodore has advocated for this effort and made it possible to give Aria Project an online presence. As a former student of Melissa’s, I credit her with teaching me how to think critically and reflexively. A heartfelt thanks to all of you!