Life has been hard in Afghanistan for a long time. A severe three-year drought and 22 years of war have combined to uproot more than five million Afghans - refugees in Pakistan, Iran, or elsewhere in the region, or internally displaced within their own country - among the largest such group in the world. One in four children dies before the age of five, according to the United Nations. Its maternal mortality rate is the second highest in the world; only Sierra Leone is worse. Military response to the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. has worsened what was already an almost unimaginable civilian refugee crisis.
A multinational Church World Service assessment team embarked on a mission to determine the best ways to get large-scale humanitarian assistance into the country. "We are going to roll up our sleeves and be a little creative," said team leader Jack Huxtable, as he outlined the plan to meet massive human needs and stem the flow of refugees and uprooted families. "We are going to continue and intensify our efforts to help them through the winter," explained Huxtable.
CWS is responding to the shelter needs of the newly-uprooted Afghans. In the central highlands of Hazarajat, Afghanistan, some 2,000 families (approximately 10,000 people) were encamped in 40 small settlements, most of them sleeping in the open despite freezing temperatures. CWS Pakistan/Afghanistan director Marvin Parvez reported the death rate in the camps was staggering - as high as 87 people a day!
With the help of Week of Compassion, CWS has provided 2,000 shelter kits for the internally displaced families in Hazarajat - and is assisting thousands of other families uprooted inside Afghanistan and in neighboring countries. The shelter kits - valued at $90 each - provide a family with a tent, a ground sheet, a plastic tarp, and blankets - life-saving shelter against the elements. A women's blanket-making cooperative in the region is providing blankets for many of the kits, a welcome source of income in an area of great need.
In response to the needs of people in NYC and across the country, Church World Service is sponsoring a series of webcasts to provide spiritual support and professional resources to clergy and spiritual leaders as they attempt to meet the needs of their congregants and communities. Visit www.faithandvalues.com to tap into these resources, made possible in part by gifts to Week of Compassion.
