Help Afghan Assist

Hi, our names are Luco (9 years old) and Naim (7 years old). We live in Brooklyn, New York.

Since the beginning of the school year, we’ve been learning about Afghanistan. We read The Breadwinner book series by Deborah Ellis, and we learned a lot about life for kids in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

A few weeks ago, we were listening to the podcast The Daily while we were on a car ride. It was about an 18 year old girl in Afghanistan whose full name isn’t revealed, but who is referred to as “N”. N was being tortured by her family who wanted to marry her off to a Talib so the rest of the family wouldn’t be in danger. She tried to commit suicide, and eventually she ran away from home.

At the end of the podcast, we learn that N is safe. But we still had a lot of questions. Where is N now? What will happen to her? Can she continue her studies?

So we contacted Lynsea Garrison, the producer of the podcast! We emailed her with our questions about N and her future, and Lynsea wrote back asking if we wanted to be in contact with N’s aid worker. And we said “yes”!

Of course we did! And we have been emailing with her ever since. She tells us all about life in Afghanistan right now.

We have learned that winter is coming to Afghanistan and that people are without heat. We’ve learned that over 100,000 people need to get out of Afghanistan right now because they are in danger of the Taliban. These people are former guards, police officers, military troops, women activists, teachers, students, and other girls like N. Most of them have families that are also in danger.

Afghan Assist is helping about 2,000 people in Afghanistan right now. Many Afghan people are unable to work after the Taliban took over again in August. This means they can’t buy food, pay their bills, or get out of their situations. Afghan Assist is helping by delivering food, paying for heat and other necessities, and also by trying to transport people out of Afghanistan to safety.

We are trying to raise money and awareness for people who are in danger in Afghanistan. Our goal is to raise $2,500. This money will be used to help Afghan Assist pay for food, shelter, heating, and all the other work they do. Here are a few of the cost estimates we’ve learned from the people at Afghan Assist:

Monthly rent for a 2 bedroom apartment = $200

Monthly heat bill = $40

Weekly food per person = $10

We hope you can donate to this important cause. Thank you!!!