INITIAL SITUATION

In Herat, thanks to the small foundation, “Bonyad Nikukari dasthaye”, we were able to get in contact with 50 children who used to be child labourers on the streets. Through this foundation, the children are now able to attend school. However, as the foundation only has limited amount of resources, supplying the children and their families with all of the necessary basic goods is difficult, and this hits them hardest during Ramadan.

The situation in Kabul is comparable to that in Herat. Our partner, “Kufa e.V.“, runs a training center, in which children can learn the basics of reading and writing as well as practical activities, e.g. carpentry. All in all, 70 children attend this center more or less regularly to take part in the free time activities and to take their mind off of their work, which they are forced to do. The children and their families live in the poorest areas of Kabul and urgently need support.

PROBLEM AND SOLUTION APPROACH

Only €30 is necessary to feed a family of 4 or 5 in Afghanistan for an entire month. During Ramadan, we want to ensure that families in Herat and Kabul are supplied with basic goods. We rely on direct action – in this case it is our partners and our members in Afghanistan who buy and distribute the food (rice, oil, flour, tea, salt and sugar) to the families right before the start of Ramadan.

By May 2018, we had already raised sufficient funds for the children of Herat. Thus, the Ramadan Campaign 2018 was the most successful call for donations so far. The total amount of €22,275.43 (June 2018) has surpassed all campaigns so far and is at present the all-time largest sum our organization has ever raised.

All children and families were supplied with “hunger-free” packages. A member of ours in Herat, Winuss, obtained the food and distributed it to the families in need. We were able to begin the realization of the project in May, just in time for Ramadan and guarantee provisions for two months. Due to this overwhelming willingness to donate, we prolonged our campaign and were able to provide for the families for two extra months.

We were also able to supply the children and families in Kabul with our “hunger-free” packages. The packages here had also been obtained in May by our partner, Kufa, and they were handed out to the children in need.

As is the case every year, we organized presents for Eid. In Herat, the children were given sweets, shirts, shawls and shoes. In Kabul, the children received sweets, shoes and shirts.