On a sunny day, a young shepherd named Omar goes out to the field to tend to his flock. As he does, his mother tended to her young children in their home while his father began his daily chores. Without warning, the ground rose up and shook violently, turning the soil into a liquid mass. The young shepherd deserted his flock, tearing straight to his home. Except it no longer stood. Within moments of the earthquake, entire villages crumbled to dust. Trapped inside were families, desperate to escape, found buried beneath the clay bricks that once constituted a home. The shepherd’s worst fears lay bare beneath the ruins of the place he’d left only a short time ago. His two young brothers and one sister never had a chance. The home became a grave. “It was 10 o'clock in the morning, and I was working on the farm when a heavy earthquake struck our area,” said Omar. “I ran back home to see if my family members were ok. When I reached home, everybody was lying down under the dustbags. …
Humanitarian Aid
For Daily Bread
After the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021, Afghanistan has deteriorated into a state of humanitarian crisis. International donors have all but disappeared. The country's economy and infrastructure has collapsed. Women and girls are barred from education, work, and most forms of participation in society. A massive exodus of educators, doctors, and professionals from the country has gutted the public, health, and private sectors. Afghans are unable to meet their every day needs to survive, much less weather the impact of natural disasters or any other form of emergency in their lives. Women for Afghan Women (WAW) recognized this dire situation and stepped in to make a difference. After the Taliban closed much of WAW’s operations, including all of its family guidance and women’s protection centers, it has regrouped its resources, reassigned staff able to work, and quickly pivoted to providing emergency and humanitarian aid. After only 18 months since the fall of Kabul WAW’s …