Afghanaid's Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022

We're taking part in the UK's largest matching funding campaign and we need your help!

What is The Big Give's Christmas Challenge?

Launching on Giving Tuesday, Afghanaid is thrilled to be once again taking part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge. For 1 week, donations made on our campaign page will be matched pound for pound - that means one donation has twice the impact!

We're supporting vulnerable families across rural Afghanistan so that they can remain resilient through the brutal winter months, and strengthen their livelihoods come spring. No matter the size of the contribution, your support can have a transformative impact on the health and well-being of the Afghan men, women and children most at risk in this ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Donate now

What is winter like in Afghanistan?

Due to its mountainous landscape, landlocked Afghanistan faces extremes of temperatures throughout the year, with winter temperatures in some regions dropping to around -25°C. To compound the challenges these temperatures create, almost all provinces are frequently hit by natural disasters, which have increased in frequency and severity in recent years as a result of the climate crisis. 

In the winter, when rural areas are covered by a blanket of thick snow, communities are effectively cut off from other areas, leaving them unable to reach markets for food, hospitals for basic medical care, or cities in which they can find work. This means winters are always tough for vulnerable families, but the events of the past 18 months have further intensified these difficulties, creating a perfect storm.

Economic collapse and severe ongoing droughts have intensified food insecurity and poverty, leaving 9 in 10 families unable to feed themselves adequately each day, and 6 million people at risk of famine. With parents having to spend almost all household income on food just to get by, this leaves little money left to purchase necessities like blankets to keep their children warm. Last winter, around 8.6 million Afghan children lived in households without enough blankets to go around. 

With your help, we can provide emergency food and heating support to these families, protecting them from the extreme weather they must navigate, and help them become more resilient in the coming year.

How can my donation help?

Regardless of the amount you are able to give, you can make a very real difference this winter:

£20 could cover the costs of two month's worth of fuel for a family, so they can cook food and heat their homes.

£45 could purchase a thick jacket, a double-layered blanket and a heater to help keep a person warm through the winter.

£258 could buy a whole family 3 months of emergency food - including rice, oil, beans and salt.

£500 could provide emergency shelter for 5 families who have lost their homes so they can keep safe from the cold weather. 

By donating during the campaign week, you could help twice as many families like Fatima's (pictured) overcome the challenges they face, prepare for the winter ahead, and rebuild their lives in 2023.

Double my donation Read Fatima's story

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What have we got planned?

Conversations with Afghanaid: The Poetry of Afghanistan

On Thursday 1st December at 6pm GMT, join us for our upcoming virtual panel event, where we will be discussing the Poetry of Afghanistan with two amazing Afghan poets, who will teach us about the long history and cultural importance of poetry in the region and perform some beautiful verses. We shall also highlight the humanitarian crisis that Afghan men, women and children are currently facing, and how your donations can provide life-saving support throughout the week of The Big Give's Christmas Challenge.

Sign up to this event

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