How to help the people & the animals
of Afghanistan
If you are in Afghanistan or from Afghanistan and you feel safe to
share your thoughts in the public sphere, consider joining the
subreddit for Afghanistan, r/Afghanistan.
The voice of actual Afghans is very much needed on the Afghanistan
subreddit. You can create an account on Reddit for free and you do
NOT have to use your real name. This online community is focused
on Afghanistan but is dominated by people who are not Afghan - the
main moderator is someone from an ultra-right wing think take in
the USA and he's very tolerant of anti-Islamic posts (but not of
posts that point out that extremist Christians often have the same
agenda as the Taliban when it comes to women). There has been a
tendency to remove any travel influencers who are posting
beautiful photos and descriptions that downplay the horrors being
experienced by Afghans in the country, particularly women and
girls and the Hazara - which I support. Join the group and share
your stories about what a day in your life is like, what
challenges you and your family are facing, what you wish the world
knew about what was happening in Afghanistan, etc.
If you want to help Afghans in Afghanistan: UNICEF and UNDP are still in
Afghanistan and doing good work. There is a small NGO, Parsa, that has
been there for decades and does good work as well. The Malala Fund
also has a focus on helping women and girls in Afghanistan. I
endorse these organizations and encourage you to donate
financially to them.
If you want to help Afghan refugees in the USA, just go to
your favorite search engine and search help Afghan refugees
and the name of your city or the nearest metropolitan area. Once
they make it to the USA, they are entirely on their own to pay
back the loan for their airline tickets, to pay for their rent,
clothes, everything else. Nonprofits like Catholic Charities help
them learn English, learn to navigate mass transit, learn how our
groceries work, learn what free things they can do together as a
family (like walking through a farmer's market, walking through a
public city or county park, etc.) and where to find jobs. Also,
please write your US Congressional representative and your US
Senators and tell them that we should fulfill our commitments to
the Afghans who risked their lives to assist the USA and get them
out, and that we must NOT provide financial assistance to the
Taliban - we need to bargain HARD to ensure women's rights. No
negotiation.
If you are not in the USA, please adapt the aforementioned advice
for your own country (Germany, the UK, Australia, Canada,
Bulgaria, France, Uganda, Kenya - on and on) - it is very likely,
no matter where you are on Earth, there are Afghan refugees in
your country and they need your help.
If you want to help regarding the stray dog and cat situation
in Afghanistan, please make a donation to either the Kabul Small
Animal Rescue, a 24/7 veterinary clinic and shelter in Kabul
that treats injured and orphaned street animals, cares for
livestock and wildlife, and facilitates local and international
adoptions, and or Nowzad,
Afghanistan's pioneer animal shelter and clinic, providing medical
care for cats, dogs, and working animals like horses and donkeys,
alongside a dedicated working animal program. Both are working to
help spay and neuter dogs and cats there, to train Afghans
regarding veterinary medicine, and to change Afghans' cultural
practices regarding dogs, which have
no basis in the Koran. I have spoken numerous times with a
representative of this organization; they ARE making a difference,
and your support will help them do even more!
Please note: I am looking for some resources in
Afghanistan, specifically:
If you have resources, please
contact me.
Please do NOT contact me for immigration help - I cannot help you
get out of Afghanistan and I cannot help you get to another
country. All such requests will be ignored.
Also see (and share):
Resources
to help Afghans in Afghanistan Keep Their Devices Safe.
Resources for Afghans
Teaching Girls at Home. (additional suggestions
welcomed)
Resources to
help Afghan women resist the Taliban.
Advice for
Afghan women helping each other to resist the Taliban.
Return to the CoyoteBroad Afghanistan
pages and blogs.
Go to the Coyotebroad travel home
page.
Follow me on social media to
see where I'm traveling currently.