Winter aid 2020 – Emergency aid packages for Kabul and Herat
Completed
More than four million internally displaced people in Afghanistan are facing the country’s typical extreme winter with temperatures as low as -25° C, snow and ice. Displaced or fleeing from ongoing conflicts and natural disasters, the families in the camps live in precarious conditions in simple mud huts or tents – without any protection from the weather. Once again this year, our emergency aid was able to support almost 800 families in two refugee camps in Herat and Kabul with winter aid packages. The basic foodstuffs and essential goods are enough to provide the families for two months.
DISPLACEMENT DUE TO CONFLICTS AND CLIMATE
There are many reasons for fleeing within the country. According to estimates from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center’s 2020 Global Report, Afghanistan has the highest number of people displaced by natural disasters. In the first quarter of 2020 alone, 30,000 people had to leave their homes due to climatic changes such as droughts or severe flooding. The country’s conflicts, which have been going on for almost four decades now, are also forcing people to flee. Almost 280,000 people have been displaced in the last 10 months due to violence and conflict. Of these, 60% are children under the age of 18.
Women and children make up the majority of internally displaced persons. The living conditions of the families in the refugee camps are appallingly poor. On average, 8 people live in a very confined space in tents or rough earth buildings. Where possible, they work as day laborers on construction sites or at markets. But for most of them, the money is barely enough to survive. This situation was further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The Global Humanitarian Review 2020 estimates the number of people worldwide who are dependent on humanitarian aid to survive at around 168 million. One of the greatest humanitarian disasters of recent decades. Due to the lockdown, access to work, food and healthcare became almost impossible, especially for refugees.
EMERGENCY AID PACKAGES FOR 800 FAMILIES
To give the families in the refugee camps a perspective for the winter, we once again organized a humanitarian emergency aid campaign this year. 787 families were provided with food and material goods parcels. The winter aid packages contain basic foodstuffs such as flour, rice and sugar as well as essential items such as blankets and hygiene products. A winter aid package costing 55 euros is enough to equip a family of six to eight over the winter months. The goods were procured locally by our Afghan cooperation partners and distributed to the families in need in the camps. In this way, we strengthen the Afghan economy and the aid goes directly to where it is most urgently needed.
WHERE DO THE DONATIONS GO?
The Qale Wahdat camp has been in existence for 5 years and is located in the west of Kabul, around 2 kilometers from the “Kote Sangi” district. There are currently 387 families living in this refugee camp. The majority of families live within a radius of around 1.5 kilometers from the city center. Once again, we cooperated with the Afghan Women’s Association, which can already look back on 27 years of experience in the humanitarian field. The camp was checked by them for need, size and the safety conditions on site.
The Urdu Bagh camp is located in the south-east of Herat, outside the city center. The camp has only existed since spring 2020, but is already home to more than 380 families. The government has just built a well for the camp, but the families still lack essential goods. Our long-standing and trusted member Winuss Azizi took over the planning and organization of the winter aid for this camp.
The surplus donations from the campaign flow directly into our educational projects.
Other emergency relief projects
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