Emergency Aid for Afghan Families

Last winter in Afghanistan, international aid organizations were not prepared for the number of Afghans that would be in need of food assistance because of the harsh winter to keep them from starving, so the Afghan Institute of Learning helped to fill this need. So far this winter has not been as harsh and it seems that international aid organizations have been much better prepared for winter and fewer people have been without any food at all. Currently, AIL staff is working to identify Afghans that are in desperate need of food supplies, and will begin delivering food to people in need during March and April.

In July, the AIL office in Herat distributed ten 25kg bags of rice and ten 3 liter bottles of cooking oil to ten very needy people that came to the office. Of the ten people that received food, two were disabled, four were widows and four were elderly and unwell. All of the recipients were members of very large families and due to their situation in life, unable to work to support their family.

Food in Afghanistan has more than tripled in price since last year due to a number of factors including an on-going drought and the cost of oil. Many poor families are on the verge of starvation and AIL has decided to expand its emergency food deliveries from winter time only, to a year round program.