On the 6th of November we hosted our event Afghanaid's 35 Year Journey: In Search of Peace & Prosperity, at the Royal Geographical Society.

A huge thank you to everyone that joined us and showed their support - the evening was a great success and it is always fantastic to be reminded of the loyal and dedicated supporters we have.

It was also lovely to see so many new faces. We hope those unfamiliar with Afghanaid went away feeling inspired by what has been achieved in the past 35 years, despite the many challenges faced by the Afghan people.

The panel discussion

Lyse Doucet initiated the discussions between our fantastic line up of speakers - Shoaib Sharifi, Harriet Sandys and Sharazuddin Siddiqi - as we explored the journeys made towards peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. 

I often say we live in the best of times and we live in the worst of times. Perhaps no country exemplifies that paradox more than Afghanistan.

Shoaib discussed the many obstacles journalists face in relation to media freedom in the country, and yet despite the barriers put in place by the Taliban, they are continuing to risk their lives to share the truth to help unite rural and urban Afghans.

If there is a window of opportunity of peace, we need to target rural impoverished areas, as Afghanaid is doing, so these populations know an alternative to Taliban rule does exist.

Harriet recounted very personal stories from her time spent living and working with Afghan communities since her first visit in 1977. She still remains very connected to the country and the families that touched her life. The eldest son of a close friend recently shared his thoughts on the future of Afghanistan. 

I wish my country become home to one nation with common goals. Our previous generations gifted us a crippled country: I hope we gift a peaceful, advanced, self-dependent , and free Afghanistan to our next generation.

Shirazuddin inspired us by highlighting Afghanaid's achievements since 1983, and also how our work continues to play a vital role in improving the lives of millions of Afghan men, women and children. 

I am impressed by the relationships Afghanaid has established with the local people. When I visited Samangan it was not the staff that were talking us through the projects,  but the communities themselves. Afghanaid has invested so much time to create ownership and confidence amongst the people.

The silent auction

A huge thank you to everyone who kindly donated to our silent auction, which included unique jewellery by Sima Vaziry and Pippa Small, beautiful homeware by Ishkar and the Afghan Rug shop, and incredible experiences from Untamed Borders and Experience Days. We'd also like to say a special thank you to everyone that took part and bid, and well done to all those with the winning bids!

It's all thanks to you

The evening has raised over £21,000 to help fund the work we do to empower vulnerable Afghan communities. Thank you.

When discussing the future of Afghanistan, Shaoib said the following "The Afghan people live for that little ray of hope, and they keep fighting for it."  We also feel hopeful as we look towards the next chapter of Afghanaid's journey towards peace and prosperity. 

Find out more about what we do      Help Afghanistan achieve peace and prosperity