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Help families fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan

  • Update on how your donations have helped families in Afghanistan

      31 January 2022

    One last update on how your donations were used to support vulnerable families in Afghanistan.

    We paid for two months' supply of food, accomodation and essentials for three families who were displaced from their hometowns and awaiting evaluation in Kabul and Mazar cities as follows: $NZD30 per day per family for 60 days * 3 families = $5400 NZD

    We also managed to get one family of five out of Afghanistan including paying for their tickets at a total cost of NZ$8900.

    The contribution on Givealittle donors made survival of these families in the harsh winter of Afghanistan a possibility. Thank you.

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  • Messages of thanks from Afghanisatn

      4 December 2021

    Kia ora everyone,

    Today we have some more detailed reports about where the money had already been distributed in Afghanistan and some thank you messages.

    So far $10,500 NZD has been distributed in Herat and Kabul cities. This amount was distributed to the following people (86 people in total) experiencing poverty:

    · Former female schoolteachers.

    · Former female school janitors.

    · Widows of former Afghan security forces .

    · Female manual labor workers.

    · Families awaiting evacuations who have left their own homes and cities and reside in big cities with no income.

    · Paid for passports of two families with four kids each who want to flee Afghanistan so their daughters can get an education and have a future. They had left everything behind in Herat, are out of jobs, and are in Kabul until they find a way to flee Afghanistan.

    · Several people living in the streets of Kabul due to poverty.

    Here is what one of our volunteer distributors told me:

    “When I called them (janitors, teachers, and others), and shared with them that we will be helping them, it was like we gave them the whole world. Every single one of them expressed their gratitude and prayers to you and to the people of New Zealand. If you see the living condition of some of these people, you will be horrified. It’s beyond imagination how some of these people manage to survive with the very little they have. May God bless and protect all of you.”

    The equivalent of $5012 NZD has also been distributed in La’al and Sarjangal of Ghor province.

    Here is a voice message from our contact who helped us get the money to the poor there:

    “Today I was happy and fortunate to receive $3400 USD and successfully transferred the money to La’al and Sarjangal and Ghor province. It’s an amount that allows us to support a good number of families there. We will support at least seventeen families. Many, many thanks to the people of New Zealand for reaching out to families that are desperate to find their next meal. Each family will have enough to eat at least for the next two months.”

    I’ll send you more updates as we have them.

    With gratitude,

    Marianne on behalf of my Afghan friends and collaborators

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  • Your donations have made it to Afghanistan!

      29 November 2021

    Dear friends,

    It's been a long time between updates as we waited for the money from this page to arrive in our bank accounts, and then started the process of getting the money to Afghanistan. As many of you know, bank transfers are not possible at the moment, so your money made it's way to Afghanistan via Turkey and now it has arrived and we can tell you that our friends in Afghanistan have begun to distribute the funds to the people who need them the most. We'll keep you updated as we hear back about the distribution, but for now we wanted you to know that the money is now started to arrive in to the households that need it.

    The situation in Afghanistan is dire. UNICEF has reported that half of the population - more than 18 million people, including nearly 10 million children - are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.  And as winter approaches, and temperatures drop, more families will need help to survive. Thanks to your generosity, we have been able to get money to families who were already at risk because of poverty, drought and ongoing conflict and who were then put into even greater risk because of the return to power of the Taleban. Thank you.

    Marianne

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  • Update

      13 September 2021

    Kia ora kind friends,

    I wanted to let you all know a couple of updates. Firstly, this Givealittle will close on Wednesday. We will then get the money from Givealittle on the 20th of next month. At the moment it looks like Western Union are opening up payments to Afghanistan again, so that will allow us to get the money to people there.

    Once the money has been released we'll need to update you again though because things could change, and if those payment options close again we'll need to consider other ways of getting the money to people.

    Thanks again for your generosity and support. Many of you have also supported the advocacy efforts to get New Zealand to welcome more people from Afghanistan. But for the many people who will not be able to leave, and whose lives have been turned upside down by the Taliban taking over control of the country, this money will make a big difference.

    Thank you.

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  • Thank you

      18 August 2021

    Thank you so much for your generosity. It's so easy to feel like we can't do anything in the face of big upheavals, widespread suffering. There are limits to what we can do, but we can do some helpful things. By donating to this Givealittle you haven't only helped raise money for people whose lives have been turned upside down, you've shown them that people care. People who don't know them, people who've never met them. People who may never meet them. You cared about them and that means a lot. So thank you.

    As you have probably seen in the news, the situation in Afghanistan has moved quickly. Commercial flights out of the country stopped. Banks in Kabul ran out of cash. It's hard to know exactly what the next steps are going to be for each of the families and people we are in touch with, so it's impossible to say for sure right in this moment what the best way will be for your generous donations to get to them, or be used to help them.

    But the situation is constantly changing, and we will keep you updated.

    For now, you may like to add your support to this petition as well - it's asking our government to widen our evacuation efforts and provide a safe refuge to people who are at greatest risk in Afghanistan right now: https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/bring-people-in-afghanistan-to-safety-in-aotearoa

    Please sign, and share. The government is considering a proposal to widen the categories of people to whom we provide safe passage and refuge, they need to know that many New Zealanders would support them to do the right thing, and make sure New Zealand is on the right side of history in this moment.

    Thank you,

    Marianne (on behalf of many others who thank you too)

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