Winterization Aid for Afghan communities

Sunita, a 12 year old girl living on the mountains across Kabul, is forced to work daily on the streets of the city. Recently she has enrolled into the school for "street-working children" that Action for Development has established in 3 different locations in Kabul. She has shared her life experience with our project coordinator.

« I only have my dad left as my mother died a few years ago after giving birth to my baby brother. She was sick for a while after the delivery, and my dad sold his kidney to be able to pay for her medicine and for an operation. However, my mother died leaving us alone. Now, my dad falls sick often due to his poor health condition and he cannot work. I have five sisters and one three-year-old brother. I go on the streets to sell bags or some other items to earn some money, which is not enough to feed all of us. In winter, my dad picks some paper and cardboard from the streets to fuel our heater».

In order to assist the population of Afghanistan when the harsh winter season arrives, every year Action for Development distributes wood or coal to vunerable families, internally displaced persons and women-headed households. 

We thank every donor who helps us provide heat for the most vulnerable in Afghanistan.

Without your donations this project would have not been possible. 

Links:

• visit our website

• winterization_picture.rtf (RTF)
• winterization_picture_2.rtf (RTF)

Project report – January 2019 – Action for Development

We would first of all like to thank everyone who has contributed to our cause. Thanks to your donations, we collected 170 USD from the winterization project on GlobalGiving, as well as an additional 1000 CHF grant (about 1000 USD) from a Swiss commune. With these donations, we were able to help 25 families living in camps, as well as 35 families of street working children who face harsh winter condition.

Distribution of heating material for the winter: we initially started looking for camps with internally displaced people in Kabul city and its surroundings, as they are the most vulnerable to the cold. Because of the cold, some people were sent to government-sponsored shelters, others went to stay with their relatives. Due to insufficient amount we decided not to go out of Kabul city. We were able to identify one camp in Parwan 3, where we further identified 25 families living in very poor conditions or who are female-headed households. We went from tent to tent and from house to house to understand their needs and living conditions. In addition to these 25 families, we identified 30 of our students (25 children from the Baburshah center, 5 children from the Karte 4 center and another 5 children from the Health Facility center) who live in extremely meagre conditions, hence their need to work on the streets to provide for their families. 

We purchased 35 sacks of coals of 52 kilograms (about 115 pounds) each. Each sack of coal cost 1200 Afghanis (about 16 USD).

• For the street working children and their families, we made a list of all their names and gave each family a card with which they could directly go to the supplier and receive heating supply.   
• For the families in the camp, we transported the heating supplies to the camp and distributed it there.

We talked with and interviewed some of the families we helped in order to have an idea of the conditions in which they live and the difficulties they face each day. Nasreen is a widow who lives with her only son in a tent. They have to beg each day to make a living.

Noor is a widower who became disabled after losing both his legs. He has three children who have no choice but to work in the streets on most days, otherwise they go to bed hungry. Sometimes, the neighbors share the little food they have with them. From the testimonies of these two family heads as well as many others who we were able to talk to, we realized that help is needed for them to cover their basic needs and survive. Once again, we thank everyone who has donated to our cause for the assistance they have been able to provide for the families who need it the most.

There are thousands of families who now are living in bitterly cold winter conditions with no electricity, food, water. Elderly, women and children are most pron to hypotermia, which eventually leads to death among the children under 5 years old. They need immediate life-saving support.

We thank you for your trust in AfD and support that you provide to the people in need.