Food crisis forcing families apart

Basir Ahman Amiri works for our partner Catholic Relief Services Afghanistan [Caritas]

We have helped families in Afghanistan forced apart by the struggle to find food

In 2008 Mrs Kubra found herself in a desperate situation.

The price of food had tripled and when the winter came to her village in Herat province, Northern Afghanistan, it hit hard, causing a chronic drought and a huge drop in the amount of wheat she could harvest to feed her four children.

She had no livestock, no food and even selling everything she owned was not enough to survive. Then she lost her husband.

“I was forced to leave my family and my village in search of work," said Mrs Kubra.

“When I learnt that CRS was in my village to help, I went back. I thank God that now I have something to eat.”

We have been working with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Afghanistan to support vulnerable families like Mrs Kubra’s whose lives have been seriously affected by the drought.

Her family has benefitted from a scheme where they exchanged vouchers for food and fuel for cooking and heating.

Huge challenges

There are huge challenges ahead for the people that are being hit by rising food prices and extreme weather in Afghanistan. There is still not enough work, a shortage of medical faciliites and no opportunities for children to be educated.

Thanks to CAFOD supporters, our work with CRS has given people in crisis a chance to have their lives back. Conditions have improved so much that 80 families in the district of Herat have been able to return to their villages.

“Please don’t forget to pass on our message to those who can help us. We are human too and have the right to life like other people in the world,” said Mrs Kubra.

Basir Ahman Amiri has been working for our partner CRS Afghanistan for six years. He hopes to help more people to keep animals, recover their crops and give children the chance to have an education.

He said: “We have a saying that 'if you are standing and someone falls down, take their hand'. All people are parts of each other, if one part feels pain, the other parts feel pain.

"To be human is to feel the pain of others. Every human has the right to a peaceful life.”

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