THE SHANBE BAZAR REFUGEE CAMP

The Shanbe Bazar refugee camp is located about 15 kilometers outside of Herat and is home to more than 350 families. The residents of the camp live in extreme poverty in cramped conditions in simple mud buildings without electricity or running water. There, the refugees can neither keep enough distance, nor do they have the necessary means for hygiene measures. The residents receive no financial support from the state. Some of the residents work as construction workers or day laborers in the city. The already difficult access of the refugees to work, food and health care is now even more restricted during the Corona pandemic.

Due to financial hardship, around 100 people from the camp already sold their kidneys. “It was the easiest and fastest way to make money to pay debts and keep the family from starving,” says a 33-year-old resident* of Shanbe Bazar. Due to lack of education and aftercare, the illegal surgeries have serious consequences.  Some of the organ donors are often unable to work for months or even forever and are thus driven further into poverty, contrary to their hopes.

EMERGENCY AID FOR 355 FAMILIES

As part of our Ramadan emergency aid this year, we are supporting 355 families in Shanbe Bazar camp with basic foodstuffs such as flour, rice, oil, dates and sugar, tea, as well as a water bucket and hygiene items. A “Hunger Free Package” costs 78 euros and is enough to feed a family of six to eight for about three months.

Our long-time and trusted association member Winuss Azizi is again organizing the emergency aid on site in Herat. The package contents are purchased locally and distributed directly to the families.