July 2001
War, Drought, Famine
Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. The ongoing 21-year civil war has destroyed the infrastructure of the country and caused the death of two million people. The effect on the population is incalculable.
For instance, Afghanistan has the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rates in the world. One in four women is a widow. Healthcare is virtually nonexistent.
The fighting in the past 20 years has devastated much of the countryside. Large sections of Kabul, the capital city, are in ruins. The fighting continues with no sign of peace.
To make matters worse, in the past three years Afghanistan has been hit with the worst drought in living memory. The central and northern areas have been particularly hard hit. The crops have failed, and farmers have been forced to eat what is left of their seed crop for next year.
Since the summer of 2000, over 700,000 Afghans have left their homes because of the drought and the ongoing conflict. Most of them are internally displaced persons who have remained in the country.
In western Afghanistan near the city of Herat, thousands are living in camps in wretched conditions, and hundreds more arrive every day. Over half the population of Kabul is made up of displaced people, all of whom are in desperate condition. Those who remain in their towns and villages are often in an even worse state.
The International Assistance Mission's Disaster Management Project is seeking to assist the displaced and suffering people of Afghanistan by making it possible for them to return to their homes. The project will use food-for-work and food aid projects to encourage people to return to their villages and towns.
Their plan is to meet the immediate emergency needs of the people, while addressing their long-term problems. The repair of irrigation systems through food-for- work programs is just one example of the methods the Project will use to enable people to stay in their towns and villages rather than leave for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. It will also focus on disaster preparation so that the people will be better prepared for future problems.
Much of the world has forgotten the plight of the Afghan people, and they continue to suffer terribly. Please help us help those who are working among them to demonstrate God’s love to them, to let them know they are not forgotten.
Thank You From Tajikistan
From Greg Gamble—“Thank you so much for your efforts in providing $4,800 for the tents. We now have 48 tents. Two are extra large and will be used for our disaster relief on-site offices and medical clinic. The others will be given to those who are left homeless in the wake of a disaster.”
India
We sent $2000 to St. John’s Schools to buy school supplies and desks for the children. Many of the children sit on the floor since they do not have an adequate number of desks.
