Fatima* lives with her son, daughter, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren in a remote, mountainous village in Afghanistan. Now 70 years old, Fatima has lived in this village for her whole life, and has witnessed many changes over the decades. Her husband had lived here by her side until three years ago, when sadly he fell ill and passed away.

Following her husband’s death, Fatima's family had to find ways to get by on just one income bought in by her son. Working as a labourer, Fatima’s son struggles to find secure work, with many jobs drying up in the past year as a result of the ongoing economic crisis. The money he earns is often not enough to properly feed a family of eight, or make sure they have enough fuel and heating equipment for the harsh winter months. During the winter months, he is also unable to supplement his income with farm work until spring comes.

The isolated nature of Fatima’s village makes it even harder to source the essentials they need. “The market is very far away,” she told us, “It costs 150 Afghanis to go to market and 150 Afghani to return, so we cannot afford to go and buy items that we need. The land closer to the city is too expensive, so we have to live here.”

When Afghanaid visited Fatima’s village, she immediately signed herself up to receive winterisation support. A key component of our work in the winter months, our winterisation projects work to ensure vulnerable families have what they need to stay healthy and secure throughout winter. Necessities like blankets, lamps and stoves provide a lifeline for these families. 

“Afghanaid helped us with items for the winter season like blankets, gas stove and solar power. I am very happy, and we used these items well in winter. Thanks a lot to Afghanaid for helping us with these items because as a result of conflict I lost my home appliances and I didn’t have anything to use.”

In Afghanistan, nearly 8.6 million children live in homes that do not have enough blankets to go around. As a result of support from people like you, Fatima is able to keep her grandchildren warm in the cold winter months, ensure her family stay safe and healthy, and begin to rebuild after the tumultuous events of the past 12 months. We’ve supported over 1.5 million people across Afghanistan with emergency humanitarian support since the Taliban takeover. Your generosity ensures we can reach even more vulnerable families this winter with a wide range of support, including emergency food, cash, shelter and heating support.

How can I help vulnerable families like Fatima's this winter?

We're supporting families like Fatima's with urgent and lifesaving assistance 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:

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*Please note, we have changed her name to protect her privacy