Hungerfree in Ramadan – food for families in need in Afghanistan and Turkey

[English]

Project start: 2024

Completed

Target achieved:

47.217 €

Around 10% of the world’s population goes hungry – even though a life free from hunger is a human right. Years of war and dangerous humanitarian crises have left large parts of the Afghan and Syrian populations at the mercy of starvation without support. However, both crises are in danger of disappearing from the public eye.

With this year’s humanitarian emergency relief during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, we would like to set an example of solidarity. Together, we can reach around 120 Afghan families and 150 families in Turkey – mainly Syrian refugees – with food parcels so that they can get through the holy month of Ramadan hunger-free.

Thank you so much for your support, which makes this emergency relief possible!

One year after the devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, the situation is only getting worse. Acute relief efforts have come to an end, but the establishment of new structures is slow. Households in north-western Syria and Turkey are struggling with rising prices for basic foodstuffs, which they often can no longer afford. Due to the high unemployment rate, overall poverty has risen to an estimated 90%.

Also In Afghanistan, too, the political, financial and humanitarian crises have continued to escalate since the Taliban took power in August 2021. Currently, around 29.2 million people (almost ¾ of the population!) are dependent on humanitarian relief from aid organizations – 15.8 million of them are children. Due to the economic collapse and droughts, many families do not know where their next meal will come from. Around 13.1 million Afghans do not have enough money for food and go to bed hungry.

The Hunger Free food parcels were successfully distributed before Eid so that the families could enjoy the holidays without hunger: 195 Afghan families in Mazar-e-Sharif (pictures left) and 150 families in the Turkish-Syrian border region of Hatay (pictures right) were reached thanks to your great support for humanitarian emergency aid. A big thank you also to Ferdaus Seifie Charity e.V., who also generously supported us.

Hungerfree in Ramadan

The fasting month of Ramadan is one of the most important months for devout Muslims. During this time, it is particularly important to think of those who do not have the financial means to provide themselves with food and are therefore suffering from hunger. In addition to abstaining from food and drink, the focus is on charity, compassion and solidarity. Many Muslims also make zakat, an annual donation to people in need, during Ramadan.

Due to the ongoing catastrophic situation one year after the severe earthquakes, this year’s Ramadan emergency relief is also aimed for the first time at Syrian families who have fled to the Turkish city of Hatay on the border with Syria. In addition, we want to reach families affected by financial poverty and hunger in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, with food packages. With your donation, you are sending an important signal of solidarity with people who have been suffering from displacement, violence, natural disasters and financial poverty for years!

As part of our humanitarian emergency relief, we are able to distribute food packages to an estimated 270 families in need in Afghanistan and Turkey – 120 Afghan and 150 Syrian families. The packages for the Syrian families probably contain 2kg of dates, 8l of oil, 3kg of sugar, 3kg of rice, 3kg of pasta, 6kg of lentils, 2.4kg of tomato paste, 3kg of bulgur and 3l of juice. For the packages of Afghan families 50kg flour, 24kg rice, 10kg beans, 5kg noodles, 2kg tomato paste, 2 packs of dates, 1kg tea, 7kg sugar and 10l oil are planned. The composition of the packages is based on the needs of the respective regions as determined by our local partners. However, based on price fluctuations and changing availability, these can still change.*

Local partner organizations

OASE (Organization of Afghan Support for Education), with whom we have already successfully implemented countless projects in Afghanistan, is responsible for the local project organization in Afghanistan. The employees are very well networked in Mazar-e-Sharif and bring valuable expertise to the catastrophic humanitarian situation on the ground.

Maram is our local project organization for the distribution of emergency relief in Hatay. We got to know the organization and its work personally on our project trip last year after the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey. The organization Maram has been active since the beginning of the Syrian war in 2011 (a girl of the same name is the inspiration for the name, who was paralyzed by the shelling of her village during the organization’s first mission on the Syrian-Turkish border) and has already been able to reach over 2 million people in Syria and neighbouring countries.

Humanitarian crises in Afghanistan

Since the Taliban came to power, Afghanistan has become one of the biggest humanitarian emergencies in the world. The rights of women and girls in particular have been severely restricted since then. In addition to the unstable political and economic situation, severe earthquakes shook the provinces of Herat, Badghis and Farah in October last year. Many families have not only lost their homes, but their entire livelihoods.

On top, Afghanistan is also the country hardest hit by climate change in the world. Devastating droughts, bitter cold and unbearable heat not only weaken people and livestock, but also have a significant impact on agriculture. There is hardly any water and the harvests are inadequate. Almost half of the Afghan population suffers from malnutrition today. Currently, 50% of children under the age of 5 are at risk of starvation. Afghans are one of the most vulnerable population groups and we all have a responsibility to support them and show solidarity and charity.

Humanitarian crises in Syria and Turkey

After more than 13 years of conflict and economic destruction, Syria is not only the country with the largest number of internally displaced people in the world (around 32% of the total population), but also with an estimated 15.3 million people in need of humanitarian aid.

In north-western Syria, almost 90% of the 4.6 million inhabitants are now dependent on humanitarian aid, most of them women and children. The multidimensional crises and the consequences of the earthquake will probably significantly increase the stress factors. In the north-western region, 3.3 million people are already suffering from food insecurity. The Turkish province of Hatay on the border with Syria was hardest hit by the earthquakes, with entire districts destroyed. Since then, around 187,000 people have been living in temporary container villages and are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

*This is the estimated cost of an emergency relief distribution package:

Afghanistan: 99€ per package goes directly to the families in the form of food, 30€ to our local partner organization OASE for personnel costs and the implementation of package distribution, 5€ for bank and international transaction fees and 7€ for the coordination of emergency relief in Germany.

Turkey/Syria: 53 per package will go directly to the families in the form of food, €14 to our local partner organization Maram for personnel costs and the implementation of package distribution and €4 for the coordination of emergency relief in Germany.

The individual prices can change daily due to factors such as the exchange rate and fluctuations in food prices, thus affecting the total price of a package. Price fluctuations therefore have a direct impact on the amount of food that is provided and therefore on the number of families that can be reached with the packages.

If we even manage to exceed the donation target, the surplus will go towards our education projects.

Thank you so much for your support, which enables us to implement the humanitarian emergency relief!