Ramadan hunger-free campaign Herat and Kabul 2017

Bamiyan, Herat and Kabul, Afghanistan

Project start: 2017

Completed

Target achieved:

3.500 €

Winters in Afghanistan are freezing cold. In addition to life-threatening temperatures and heavy snowfall, people here also have to cope with food shortages due to drought. According to the UNHCR (2017/12), 2.6 million internally displaced persons find themselves in such a degrading situation.

Displaced or fleeing from conflicts or drought in their own country, they usually have no choice but to fight for survival in refugee camps in their thousands. They have to suffer the cold and sleep in tents at temperatures as low as -15 degrees Celsius, often without blankets or warm clothing. Due to the lack of job opportunities, people are barely able to find a way out of poverty. The wages for occasional work as a day laborer are simply not enough to feed their own families.

INITIAL SITUATION

During the fasting month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world are called upon to fast from sunrise to sunset and thus abstain from food, drink and other pleasures. Ramadan is considered a holy month in which Muslims reflect even more strongly on their faith and stand up for their fellow human beings. In Ramadan 2017, we launched a campaign for orphans in Afghanistan, as they are particularly affected by severe poverty and need help the most.

Our project was intended to support several facilities in several cities in Afghanistan and specifically address the respective needs of the orphans. The children in the orphanages and schools only receive simple (mostly cold) meals, although they need more substantial food, especially during the month of fasting.

Through our members Salim Khamoush, Nasanin Azadzoy and Winuss Azizi, we made contact with the schools “Madrasa Imam Bukhari” in Kabul and “Maktabe Motawasete Nesswan Shebar” in Bamiyan, which are attended by orphans and half-orphans, as well as the orphanage “Paraweshgahe Khwaja Abdullah-e Ansari” in Herat.

PROBLEM SOLUTION

We initially had the school principals and the local home manager send us lists of requirements together with cost breakdowns. These included the basic foodstuffs required for all the facilities as well as a one-off feast for Eid. In addition, the school in Bamiyan expressed a wish for a water reservoir, exercise books and pens. The orphanage in Herat needed new clothes for the school uniform, in the form of shirts, headscarves and shoes, which they wanted to give to the children for Eid (Eid). The costs of €3,500 were generated exclusively through our appeal for donations on Facebook and transferred to the local projects by our members. In addition to the food, we were also able to fulfill the additional wishes and reach a total of 645 children with the campaign.