Helping Displaced Families in Afghanistan

Since the news broke about Afghanistan, people all around the world have come together to help the people of Afghanistan. 

As the days continue, GHNI remains committed to the following 3 objectives: 

1. Alleviate the suffering caused by the collapse of the government, with a special emphasis on helping women and children.
2. Help those who want to and have left Afghanistan.
3. Lay the foundation, so we can continue our work of sustainable development, to help the Hidden and Hurting in Afghanistan.

Below are the various updates from the field! Because of the generosity and outpouring of love, GHNI has been able to provide more than 5,000 weeks of food to families!  THANK YOU for your support! 

Below are updates from 11/05/2021 about the work and situation in Afghanistan:

Fatima* is a widow with 4 small children, living in the remote Daikon* region. Her husband was killed by the Taliban 2 years ago, trying to defend his family & his village. With no other male supporting the family, she and her children faced starvation since she cannot work outside the house, by edict from the new regime. Hearing about her plight, Genghiz*, our GHNI staff member who chose not to leave, mobilized resources provided by YOU, to help her and her family prepare for winter. When she received the resources to help her family, she was moved to tears and thanked God for the people who provided this lifesaving help. This is just one of hundreds of families YOU have helped.

Our work in Afghanistan continues, despite obvious difficulties. Our initial goal was to provide a full week’s for food to 3,000 families. We have far exceeded our goal by providing more than 5,000 weeks of food. This is due to YOUR generosity and compassion. THANK YOU. Truth be told, we have provided 10 weeks of food to 500 different families. From our experience, we have learned that helping people at a survival rate, just for numbers sake, really benefits no one. It is much better to help a family in a more substantial way. We are trying to alleviate the suffering, in the context of a relationship.

Below are updates from 10/08/2021 about the work and situation in Afghanistan:

The Latest Good News & Bad News from Afghanistan

• Our Women’s Empowerment Center IS STILL GOING ON, in an undisclosed area. This is actually GREAT NEWS. Attendance is down by 1/3 but girls are still coming to learn English and their Moms are learning about health issues and how to take care of their families.
• As stated previously, people in Afghanistan are getting desperate and selling their possessions to buy food. One man offered to sell his kidney to feed his family. A former member of the Afghan Army completed suicide out of despair and fear because the Taliban are now in charge. The economy has collapsed, the UN reports that the poverty rate will rise to 97% next year unless something is done now, and there have been reprisals against those who supported the previous regime and foreigners.
• We are still able to get money in the country to continue our work. Through YOUR kindheartedness, we have provided families with approximately 2,000 weeks of food. We are focused on helping the most vulnerable – the elderly, children and women who can’t or are fearful of leaving their homes. 

Below are updates from 09/24/2021 about the work and situation in Afghanistan: 

Our efforts have been focused on the elderly, handicapped, and children.

With your generous donations, we have been able to give each family the following items: 

• 110 pounds (50 kg) of flour
• 55 pounds (25 kg) of rice
• cooking oil,
• tea, and sugar

Below are updates from 09/17/2021 about the work and situation in Afghanistan: 

• Through your generosity, we have gotten tens of thousands of dollars into the country to help hundreds of families.
• We need to strike the balance getting as much money in as possible, without arousing the suspicion or wrath of the Taliban.
• Several of our vulnerable staff wishing to get out are stranded, along with hundreds of thousands wanting to leave.  We hope there will be a break in this stalemate soon.
• We are helping several former staff and partners, both inside and outside the USA, who were able to evacuate before airspace was closed, by filling out Priority Immigration Visa Applications, recommending/offering homes to settle in, and with requests like new eyeglasses, running shoes, and art supplies.
• The UN and other aid agencies warn that one million Afghan children are at risk of starvation and death if their immediate needs are not met.
• Until the end of today - Your gift to help displaced families in Afghanistan will be matched! Gifts up to $50 USD will be matched 50% through GlobalGiving! It costs $40 to feed a family for 1 week, but with this match you can help feed almost 2 families! 

Below are updates from 09/10/2021 about the work and situation in Afghanistan: 

• Today, out of the blue, we received a call from a former employee of GHNI who was being “processed” at a military base near Washington DC. He safely got out, along with the 4 people in his family.
• Several former employees, and partners were able to escape, but we still have some vulnerable current staff, mostly women, children, and religious minorities that haven’t been able to leave yet.  Some were within 50 yards of Abbey gate at the Kabul Airport right before the attack and are on the manifest of the charter flights that haven’t been cleared to take off. We are very concerned about them. We will update as soon as we know they have gotten out. 
• There is currently no functioning banking system in Afghanistan right now. However, we have been able to send funds to help and feed hundreds of displaced families. Although our fourth transfer of funds hit a snag, we were finally able to get the relief money to those who need it most.  We are working on using multiple streams to get funds into the country. THANK YOU for your generosity! 
• We are anticipating a burgeoning refugee situation as desperate people who are fleeing Taliban rule spill over into neighboring countries. Our staff and partners are already helping them in those countries. 
• We have been in contact with our staff at the Women Empowerment Centers and hope to resume very soon. We will know more once the situation on the ground is clearer.

Below are updates from 09/03/2021: 

• Because of the generosity and outpouring of love, Global Hope can feed over 2,500 families. THANK YOU for your compassion and concern.
• We have started to send in our first finances to help buy relief supplies through non-traditional methods. All banks have been closed for 3 business weeks, already.
• All Afghan airspace is closed. We are still working on evacuating several vulnerable staff and their dependents.
• We are anticipating a burgeoning refugee situation as desperate people who are fleeing Taliban rule spill over into neighboring countries. Our staff and partners are already helping them.

Thank you for making it possible to give Help and Hope to the people of Afghanistan!

If you would like to donate to displaced families and those who have traveled outside the country, please click here. If you would like to visit the Afghanistan Disaster Response, please click here

Links:

• Afghanistan Updates Blog
• Afghanistan Disaster Response Page