Christmas Appeal
CHRISTMAS APPEAL FOR AFGHANISTAN
Winter in Afghanistan is extremely harsh, made more so by the struggle most families face to find enough food and income to maintain themselves through these cold months. Some villages in the remoter rural areas will literally now be shut off by snow until the spring, leaving their occupants reliant on supplies they've tried to build up earlier in the year and vulnerable to the severe weather that prevails.
Thirty years of war and instability have left Afghanistan impoverished and heavily dependent on food imports. Few countries have been hit harder by the global rise in food prices, leaving many of the more vulnerable groups at risk of starvation. Last winter, reports from some remote villages indicated that due to the severe shortage of food, villagers resorted to eating grass and shrubs to keep themselves alive.
Afghanaid, is launching an appeal this Christmas to raise funds to ensure families have enough food this winter and into the future.
Afghanaid has worked in Afghanistan for 25 years and currently operates in over two thousand villages in some of poorest and remotest parts of the country.
Through our diverse projects, such as kitchen gardens for women, field schools for farmers and community savings groups, we provide villagers with the tools to secure their own livelihoods in a sustainable way.
Zigul, a 50 year old widower with seven children, has always had to work very hard to support her family. But since Afghanaid helped her to set up a kitchen garden, providing seeds and training, her life has been transformed.
Previously she worked for a wealthy landowner collecting nuts and receiving little in return. Now she grows enough vegetables to feed her own family and is learning how to process and store food for the winter.
Next year she hopes to increase production and to sell the extra produce in the local market.
Emergency food aid can ease a food crisis but people like Zigul will remain vulnerable unless they are given the resources and training to support themselves.
Afghanaid's work is now more important than ever and we need your support. A donation of £20 helps to set up a kitchen garden, £40 buys fruit saplings to establish a private orchard and £85 allows a family to start a beekeeping enterprise.
Currently the fifth-poorest country in the world, Afghanistan was once famous for the quality and quantity of its fruit and vegetables. Afghanaid is working to restore those happier times to a country which has suffered so much in the past three decades. Please do what you can to help.
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