Support vulnerable families in rural Afghanistan

In October last year, a series of four powerful earthquakes, measuring 6.3 magnitude on the Richter scale, shook Western Afghanistan, with the epicentre striking Herat province.

Recent statistics show that around 1500 Afghans were killed and injured in these earthquakes, with over 175,000 people in nine different districts being directly affected. Entire villages in these areas were flattened, and homes, possessions and in some tragic cases, people, were buried in the debris. The majority of those affected were women and children as, due to the initial earthquake striking in the middle of the day, when most male family members were working rural jobs in neighbouring fields, women were primarily at home doing household chores and caring for their children, which left them more vulnerable when buildings collapsed. UN officials have reported that, devastatingly,  90% of those killed were women and children. 

At the time of the quakes, Afghanaid’s Director of Programme Implementation and Quality, Abdul Rahman Tariq, stated: “This is another devastating event in the ongoing humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan. Currently, 90% of the population is affected by poverty. This means many families in this remote area of the country would have already been struggling to find food, employment, and stay out of debt. Now, they have been hit with one of the worst earthquake disasters we've seen in years.”

10 months on from this destructive disaster, we have been able to assess the impact of our cash assistance response, enabled by your donations, which supported families who were hit by the earthquakes to buy the necessities they needed, keep a roof over their heads and help them start to rebuild.

Jamila and her family were among those affected by the deadly earthquakes in Herat province, whose house crumbled as the quakes relentlessly shook their village.  With Jamila’s home and possessions lost, and the danger of more buildings in her area collapsing amidst the aftershocks, her family were one of many others forced to spend several cold nights sleeping in the open air in makeshift tents and shelters.

“When the earthquake happened, we were at home. Our houses were cracked and destroyed, we didn't have a tent and so we lived in the plains with my children,” Jamila told us.

The effects of natural disasters in Afghanistan vary hugely from household to household and in the case of earthquakes, this is often due to the difference in materials used for different houses and buildings. Some of the poorer areas experienced more devastation due to the fact that the houses there are constructed from mud-brick, as opposed to concrete, thus being a weaker, more vulnerable structure. It was therefore imperative that the humanitarian responses were flexible, to ensure that our urgent assistance reflected this variation of experience. 

This is why, when Afghanaid partners arrived in the district, vulnerable families like Jamila’s were able to sign up to receive cash assistance to gain immediate relief. Afghanaid and partners recognised the value of getting cash to families in crisis, quickly. This is because the flexibility offered by unconditional cash enabled residents of these areas to respond to the unique challenges and needs they have. From food to shelter to household goods, their biggest priorities vary - and direct cash ensures they can execute their judgement on what is most appropriate for their families, and also meet multiple needs at once.

For Jamila, the cash assistance was a lifeline for the varied needs of her children. "I used the donated money to treat my children - we went to the doctor when they got sick, we bought fuel such as firewood, and we used the money to buy our food and cover expenses."

Jamila hopes that these cash donations will continue so that they can rebuild their lives to the way that they were before the earthquakes. She recognises her power and resilience as a woman and mother, declaring, "I am a strong woman and I hope I can build the future of my children."

With your support, since October we've helped over 1,400 families like Jamila’s in Herat access much needed cash to meet their needs and survive the winter. We're working hard to ensure that, as well as meeting their urgent needs now, we continue to support them so that they can also start to rebuild their homes, their livelihoods and their hopes for the future.

We’ve made a film about the earthquakes and our cash response - watch it here to find out about how you’ve supported other families’ like Jamila’s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZcGcpVihYA

In 2024, the resilience of the people of Afghanistan continue to be tested. The climate crisis has dried up many sources of income, food and water, and the restrictions on women have left thousands of families with a sole wage-earner. And for people living with a disability, their resilience is also under immense strain, but there is often less awareness of the challenges they face.

40 years of war and instability has resulted in Afghanistan being home to one of the highest proportions of disabled people in the world. With 80% of adults and over 17% of children living with a disability, an incredibly high proportion of Afghans have been acutely more vulnerable to the current humanitarian crisis due to their marginalisation.

Human Rights Watch documented that Afghan women and girls with disabilities are even more at-risk, being less likely to receive any kind of education, access healthcare, or gain employment. They face increased risk of violence and it is this marginalisation that creates such a difficult life for those living with disabilities in Afghanistan.

This winter, our teams at Afghanaid have been providing life-saving humanitarian support to families most affected by the harsh winter temperatures, many of which are households with disabled family members.

Take Musafar, a father of 6. With poor transport links and a lack of basic infrastructure in his village, many families like Musafar’s experience poverty, unemployment and food insecurity, which only worsens when temperatures drop and snow comes. For Musafar, things are even tougher, as his wife has a disability: as the only income-earner, it means he has to work twice as hard to equip his family for the winter season.

Musafar had been struggling to find work through the recent economic crisis, leaving his family struggling to meet their most basic needs.

“We had no money to treat our illnesses, and during the severe winter we had no wood to burn. I tried many times to borrow some money to fulfil the requirements of my family but no one was able to extend a helping hand.”

When Afghanaid visited Musafar’s village to reach those most in need of assistance through the upcoming winter, Musafar immediately notified the team of his family's situation and wife's complex needs, and received life-changing cash assistance.

Cash assistance recognises the importance for families to autonomously tackle their most pressing needs, thus increasing the overall effectiveness of emergency aid delivery. By acknowledging that families know how best to meet their own needs, cash assistance safeguards households' dignity and ensures they play central roles in shaping their futures. Crucially, when people living with disabilities are unable to work, this flexible economic support also provides a pathway to accessing lifesaving medicines.

For Musafar, and families in a similar position to his, this cash assistance meant he was able to purchase what his family required to make it through the winter, and also the medicines his wife needed.

“Afghanaid gave us 31,800 Afghani in 3 instalments, which was enough and supportive for us to spend six months comfortably, and now I am not feeling distressed.”

Cash assistance like this also provides long term support. It enables families to invest back into their communities and stimulate their local economies, supporting the livelihoods of local farmers and small businesses in their villages. When communities are bolstered by these purchases, employment opportunities arise and food security improves.

“We feel cherished and happy from the assistance of Afghanaid...Once again thank you.”

Please continue to generously support our work so that we can enable more families to tackle their individual needs with dignity in a way which best suits the needs of themselves and their families.

*Please note, we have changed the names to protect privacy