Afghanistan: A Gift of Life for a Young Child

In our work around the world, we often bear witness to the devastating conditions in which people are forced to live. It is heartbreaking and never easy to see, but when you consider the poverty that people like Sharifa and her family endure, it shouldn’t be easy.

Sharifa lives in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Her husband, who worked with the Afghan National Police, was killed in a car bomb 5 years ago, leaving her to support her 3 children and in-laws alone in a country where poverty is commonplace.

Life in Jalalabad is tenuous at best. Access to food, clean water, and medical care – things we are so fortunate to have here – are just a few of the challenges that families like Sharifa’s are faced with on a daily basis.

When Sharifa’s youngest child recently became ill, the situation was hopeless. Without a proper medical examination and antibiotics her daughter would surely not live. The sad truth is, this is a reality that families all over the country are forced to suffer through, often with little hope for survival.

Thankfully, one of Sharifa’s friends knew of the clinic that you, as supporters, have helped to create. She was taken there, where her daughter received a proper checkup, laboratory exam, and medicines to treat the illness.

You did this – there is no other way to put it. Without your support, Sharifa’s daughter would not be with us today.

Every year over 4,000 families are helped at the Jalalabad Clinic. We see young mothers come through those doors and leave with renewed strength and hope for the future. This is what keeps us going. In these moments, we’re able to reach out and touch the lives of those in need, to give them the opportunity to stand up on their own and create positive change.

It is no secret that we all need a helping hand once in a while; when we see someone take that hand and begin to thrive, it reinforces why we do what we do, and the incredible gift our supporters can create in the life of another.