Winterization Aid for Afghan communities

Afghanistan faces serious humanitarian and environmental crises, according to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), 8.1 million people in Afghanistan are in need of some sort of humanitarian assistance. The already vulnerable population of Afghanistan is being exposed to greater risks of violence, increasingly being forced to flee their homes and livelihoods and face high levels of malnutrition, all in a country where 70% of the population lives in chronic poverty. As one of the world's least developed countries the country and its people need the support of the international community to provide that assistance.

Each year Afghanistan experiences very cold winters, for which the many internally displaced and people living in poverty are ill prepared. Some of the most remote areas in Afghanistan are completely cut-off during the winter months with efforts needed to make the communities more resilient to the extreme weather conditions. 

AfD has been offering support to local populations in Badakhshan, in the form of provision of locally made, multipurpose wood stoves and a supply of fuel.

Last year AfD's winterisation project in Badakhshan benefited 96 households (approximately 700 people) making their winter experience a little more bearable, the heaters enabling recipient families to heat their homes, cook food and boil water throughout the winter months. These contributions by AfD are only made possible due to the kind donations from the Global giving community.

AfD aims to support even more people in 2017 as Afghanistan's population continues to suffer as a result of political conflict and environmental crises in the region, leading to increased displacement of populations.

Just $10 is enough to provide a family with winter socks and $20 USD will provide winter blankets and $150 will provide a family of up to 9 individuals with enough heating, cooking and hot water for a month.

This project relies on the continuing support from several Swiss cantons and the generous donations from individuals on the GlobalGiving Platform.

We want to say a heartfelt thank you to those who contributed so far with their monthly or periodical donations to this project

• Afghanistan: Wintersnapshot (PDF)
  

Dear Friends and Supporters,

The throw of Afghans to other countries is a fact. Around the world, media touts the international migration crisis. Being afraid of war conflicts and unstable political situation people flee the home country in order to find a safe place for their families. In reality, not all of the families which found themselves in the dangerous situation can afford to move abroad. A lot of families are forced to look for shelter in their own country. Persecuted by militant groups or suffering from another plight, Afghans are forced to change the place of living within the country, multiplying the number of internally displaced people.

More and more Afghans abandon their home places. The process was accelerated during the last years mainly by reason of fightings around the northern city of Kunduz, the emergence of militant groups loyal to Islamic State, and the massive earthquake in Badakhshan province in 2014. Lots of families choose to settle in a camp for displaced people in the capital, Kabul. Usually, the winter is the most difficult period of time for them. Living in small shacks and tents, not all of them manage to survive. According to Amnesty International, the number of internally displaced Afghans is growing fast. In 2016 it tops 1,2 million. After fleeing their homes, displaced families face terrible living conditions in their own country. For these families every single day, especially during the cold period of time become a fight for their survival. Moreover, Kabul's summers can be extremely hot, and residents of the camp struggle with a dust and a difficulty of getting clean drinking water.

The Afghan government notices the problem and promises to help displaced compatriots. Unfortunately, due to corruption and poor government capacities, long-awaited political strategies and policies have not been implemented yet. Internally displaced people in Afghanistan continue to lack adequate shelter, food, water, healthcare and opportunities to pursue education and employment.

Team members of Action for Development want to make sure that those people under the tents in Kabul's suburbs are not abandoned by the international community. Thanks to your  donations through Global Giving platform, we managed to raise an amount of about 100 USD net during the last quarter 2016. The money reached AfD only by late January 2017. Since it was not possible to run the project with 100 USD in the beginning of the winter it was decided to collect more funds towards the project and give it a go by September 2017.

Our organization can only achieve its goals with the assistance of generous donations from our donors and supporters. Without these donations, serving displaced families in Afghanistan would not be possible. Since our organization relies on the generosity of individuals and organisational donors, we ask you to consider a donation to our project so that we could raise a sum of at least 900 USD by September 2017 to provide sufficient fund for execution of the project. Greeting warm spring days we look to the future with a big hope that the next winter will be more pleasant time for the residents of the camps for internally displaced Afghans.

Thank you again for your kind support!

Best regards,
AfD's team

Links:

• http://actfordev.org