CWS appeals for donations to support displaced people

Afghanistan needs urgent Humanitarian Help

Christian World Service is appealing for the peoples of Afghanistan.

Afghanis urgently need food, non-food items like hygiene materials, shelter materials and healthcare.

The Afghanistan Emergency Appeal will fund mobile phone cash transfers to some of the neediest families who have fled their homes. With cash, they will be able to buy what they want and need.

“The people of Afghanistan need help to survive this catastrophe. If you can, please support our appeal so the most vulnerable can meet their immediate needs,” says Murray Overton, National Director.

While the focus Is currently on getting people out of the country, CWS’s is watching what is happening to the majority of people who cannot leave Afghanistan.

Local members of ACT Alliance (Action by Churches Together) of which CWS is also a member are appealing for urgent donations to assist 50,000 families purchase food, non-food items (including for hygiene), shelter and healthcare – whatever they most need.

More than 550,000 people have been displaced this year on top of the 2.9 million who had sought shelter and safety in 2020, mostly in Afghanistan’s cities. While a few are reported to returning home now that the Taleban has taken the country, most are sheltering in informal settlements in parks and on public land.

The camps are cramped, unsanitary and lack the most basic medical facilities. Residents are forced to travel long distances to obtain water. Most displaced people living in these settlements and camps have not received any protection or education about Covid-19.

“There is massive displacement taking place within Afghanistan right now, with thousands and thousands of families uprooted from their households and home towns. Most of these people have very little reserves of their own to even support themselves for a few weeks without an income or any external help and we’re just a couple of months away from the harsh winter in the country which will make things worse. They need support and assistance the most right now. We need immediate help so that organisations like Community World Service Asia can start assisting the IDPs, starting from Kabul next week,” says Marvin Parvez, Director, Community World Service Asia.

CWS’s local partner Community World Service Asia part of ACT Alliance has been working in the country for nearly four decades. It has formed and maintained deep relationships with affected communities as well as with past and recent governments. ACT Alliance members are closely following the ongoing changes in leadership and are in the process of exploring safe pathways for a smooth continuation of our programs, while upholding humanitarian principles. Neighbouring countries are expecting more refugees as Afghanis flee the desperate situation.

The pandemic has left women dependent on men in the family for food and other daily necessities. The situation has also exposed women to greater risk of domestic violence, with limited access to protection services. The health system has broken down.

Employment prospects for displaced people who predominantly work for daily wages in informal jobs have been badly hit. One in three people in a population of close to 40 million were already facing hunger before the situation escalated. Wheat production fell by 40% because of widespread drought. Food prices have risen sharply, pushing the population further into acute poverty.

Donations to the Afghanistan Emergency Appeal can be made by phone: 0800 74 73 72 or at: https://cws.org.nz/donate-now-afghanistan/

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