"When news of the escalating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan hit the media, our minds turned immediately to the women, children, and families left fearing for their lives. Now under Taliban rule, 80 percent of the Afghan people forced to flee their homes are women and children, the United Nations Refugee Agency reports.
Photos of desperate people crowding airport tarmacs and clinging to airplanes destined out of Kabul flooded our newsfeeds. The panic and chaos raging in the capital city feels palpable, even thousands of miles away on U.S. soil, prompting so many of us to beg the question of what we can do. Charitable organizations across the globe have stepped up with an answer, calling for donations to provide emergency aid and evacuation services to the Afghan people.
Here are six worthy ways to give.
1. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Mission: “We are with refugees from their greatest time of needāfrom emergency or crisis and beyond through the months and likely years that many are displaced from their home countries. We give refugees the hope they deserve, restore their dignity, and help them rebuild their lives.”
What Your Dollars Do:Ā Donating to the United States chapter of the UNHCR helps ensure boots on the ground throughout this humanitarian crisis. Vowing not to abandon the Afghan people, particularly women and children most vulnerable to harm, the commission is utilizing funds to provide shelter, support, food, and medicine to those in need.
2. Women for Women InternationalĀ
Mission:Ā “We work at the critical intersection of women and conflict, providing skills, knowledge, and resources that create sustainable change for women, their families, and their communities.”
What Your Dollars Do:Ā Prior to this week’s crisis, Women for Women International conducted a training programāStronger Women, Stronger Nationsāin Afghanistan. This program was created to empower women toward self-reliance and provide support after the atrocities of war and conflict. Currently, however, collected funds support the organization’s work providing emergency assistance and shelter for women across the country.
3. Flyaway: Emergency Afghan Rescue Mission
Mission:Ā An unlikely heroāInstagram star Tommy Marcus, AKA @Quentin.quartantinoāpartnered with humanitarian aid groups and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) to raise funds for a rescue effort to evacuate Afghan men and women trapped in Kabul. Their efforts center those most in jeopardy, namely human rights lawyers, journalists, and interpretersāalong with their families.
What Your Dollars Do:Ā The GoFundMe is raising money to fund two planes with capacity for 300 people each run. The group vows to fly multiple trips and is directing any overage to the IWMF. Marcus stated his group is closely collaborating with “multiple governments and non-governmental organizations” to thoroughly vet passengers and ensure they each have sponsors. Marcus also assured donors they have obtained permission to land safely in Kabul, at least for the time being.
4. Afghanaid
Mission:Ā A longstanding humanitarian organization with offices in the UK and Afghanistan, Afghanaid aims to “provide Afghans with the training and tools they need to help themselves, their families, and their communities.”
What Your Dollars Do:Ā The organization is dedicating its resources toward emergency support, providing basic necessitiesālike shelter, hygiene kits, food, and moreāto families impacted by this crisis.
5. Choose Love
Mission:Ā “Choose Love does whatever it takes to provide refugees and displaced people with everything from lifesaving search and rescue boats to food and legal advice. We elevate the voices and visibility of refugees and galvanize public support for agile community organizations providing vital support to refugees along migration routes globally.”
What Your Dollars Do:Ā Partnering with organizations on the ground in Afghanistan, this refugee support organization is raising funds to provide emergency relief for men, women, and children throughout the country. Choose Love states they’ll be utilizing donations to support “projects providing vital aid and services to Afghan people who have fled the country: clothes, shelter, support for children, and groups protecting women and childrenās rights.”
6. Save the ChildrenĀ
Mission: “Together with local communities, government ministries, and partners, weāre working to improve childrenās physical and emotional health, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene, education, protection, food security, and livelihoods.”
What Your Dollars Do: Since the mid-’70s, Save the Children has been on the ground in Afghanistan, providing emergency assistance to kids affected by war and conflict. The longstanding charitable organization also works with communities to address issues like lack of educational opportunities, sanitation, malnourishment, and child laborāall of which prevent children from growing up in a safe and healthy environment.