Emergency relief continued throughout – education projects restarted
The international Christian relief organization Shelter Now is able to continue several humanitarian projects in Afghanistan, some of them on a limited basis. The Taliban regime has officially approved Shelter Now and asked to continue its work, explains the relief organization’s German director, Udo Stolte. The main office in Kabul, which had been closed since the Taliban took political power in mid-August, reopened on December 2, while offices in Herat and Faizabad have continued to operate throughout.
Stolte is also pleased about the reopening of the center for the deaf in Kabul. Here deaf people learn sign language and cultural techniques. They are also prepared for a profession and supported in their job search. Girls and women can also continue to visit the center. Also in the Afghan capital, the Shelter Now-supported elementary school has restarted classes for boys and girls. In Faizabad in the north of the country, an orphanage project and emergency aid for 500 needy families continues.
According to Stolte, a literacy course for widows has started up again in the Herat region. Since the classes are held in a place where only widows live with their children and are taught by female teachers, this would be possible, but only for the basic course (1st-3rd grade). Initially, the new rulers did not accept the teaching material for the advanced course.
In Herat, Shelter Now was able to continue distributing food from the UN World Food Program. “By the end of the year, we will have provided 370,000 people with food for three months,” Stolte concludes. In Herat, the dental departments initiated and supported by the relief organization also continue to work in the mother-and-child clinic and in the provincial hospital – but not in the university clinic, as the entire university is still completely closed.
“We are relieved to be able to continue working,” Stolte says. “We are all about supporting the people of Afghanistan. For nearly 40 years, we’ve distributed food to refugees, helped returnees build homes, educated children and youth and dentists, provided access to clean drinking water and sustainable income opportunities in agriculture. Our mission is not over yet.”
Brunswick, December 8, 2021
Shelter Now is an international relief organization with a coordination office in Germany. It was active in Pakistan from 1983 to 2016. Work began in 1988 in Afghanistan and in 2014 in the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan (Northern Iraq). The name of the organization in Germany is “Shelter Now Germany e.V.”. Shelter Now finances its relief efforts to a large extent from private donations. Shelter Now’s efficient and project-related use of funds is certified by the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI) with the donation seal.