Solving Thirst First: Our Work in Afghanistan

Our Thirst Relief team remains focused on our global mission to ‘solve thirst first’!

In the last decade, we’ve provided over 16,000 wells and water systems across the globe, providing clean, safe water to hundreds of thousands of people in need.

Recently, we’ve expanded our Thirst Relief programmes to Afghanistan. With their country at war for over four decades, countless Afghan people have been forced to flee – but now, millions have returned.

It is estimated that 3.8 million Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland in the last five years, some through choice and others through force. Life is hard for these returnee refugees, with many people struggling with unemployment and a lack of access to basic sanitation and clean water.

Working alongside our incredible partner ORCD Afghanistan and the Department of Refugees and Repatriation of Kabul, we conducted a needs assessment through observation and interviews with returnee families in Afghanistan.

Following our needs assessment, we have built a Solar Panel Water and Power Centre for 490 returnee Afghan refugees living in the impoverished Qandahari, Alikhel, Noorzai and Kochi villages.

The Solar Panel Water and Power Centre is a specially designed project that provides water and electricity to entire communities, in a way that is eco-friendly and easily accessible.

One of the people we’ve helped through our Solar Panel Water and Power Centre is 10-year-old Mahjabeen (pictured below). Mahjabeen is the oldest of her six siblings and she helps her mother with chores, like collecting water every day.

Mahjabeen’s father suffers from a chronic mental illness, and her mother struggles to leave the house due to social stigma. A lot of the work falls to Mahjabeen, and the Solar Panel Water and Power Centre will make her life much easier.

“This project has changed my life,” Mahjabeen says. “Now, I have plenty of time to help my mother and play with my friends.”

Donate to our Thirst Relief appeal today, or even help build a Solar Panel Water and Power Centre to transform the lives of an entire community!