Why REESHA's Mission Matters: A Personal Perspective on the Importance of Charitable Giving

Being born and raised in the United States, I have found that my experiences of “hardship” while no less real, are often skewed in the direction of difficulties with no existential consequences.  Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, the most immediate existential hardship I bore witness during my childhood was the rise in homelessness, a trend that I sought to help alleviate through volunteering at a local shelter and soup kitchen.  Talking with the unhoused people I volunteered with, I learned of the myriad ways they found themselves in such a precarious situation, and how much having stable institutions like shelters to rely on meant for their wellbeing.

Regardless of personal opinions of the US war in Afghanistan, one demonstrable outcome of the United States’ prolonged presence there was certain stability for Afghanistan’s most vulnerable people.  In a country that has for much of modern history been the site of civil and international conflict, this stability provided a degree of much-needed respite and even progress to millions of otherwise disenfranchised and overlooked people.  The United States’ abrupt departure revealed the inherent fragility in Afghanistan’s precarious position, and the resulting fallout has left many of the country's most vulnerable people with nowhere to turn for support.

REESHA’s work to alleviate some of that burden from the most affected individuals is essential to rebuilding Afghanistan into a country that can support and nurture its struggling population.  When a government cannot fulfill its obligation to its people it so often falls on the shoulders of NGOs to provide a specific service to alleviate the consequences of those governmental shortcomings and guide the most vulnerable people toward fulfilling and self-sustaining lives.  REESHA’s efforts to provide food and access to housing provide the foundation upon which the most affected people can gain another chance at achieving their dreams and aspirations.  Only when people are not faced with daily existential threats to their continued survival will they be able to build an equitable future for themselves.

Having volunteered in refugee camps in Jordan, I have seen firsthand the impact that what we perceive as even the most basic help can provide.  When people can forgo daily worries about where their next meal will come from, or where they’ll sleep that night, they regain the ability to pursue an education or reopen a family business.  When we, who have so much, are given the opportunity to fundamentally alter the outcome of someone’s life for the better, we have to take it.  What is comparatively insignificant to us can be truly life-altering, when applied correctly, for others.

From personal interactions with people in similar positions to those many Afghans find themselves in now, to what I have learned through my time with REESHA, it is clear to me that addressing immediate human needs is crucial to rebuilding and strengthening civil society in Afghanistan.  REESHA has already made good on our mission, having provided over six thousand meals to internally displaced people within Afghanistan, and is currently providing ongoing support to an additional ten families to cover their nutritional needs and subsidize their rent.  These efforts are only possible through generous donations from like-minded individuals who see the importance of spreading the gifts we are given to have the maximum global impact.  We are still in the infancy of achieving our goals, and as our reach and funding grow, we will be able to widen our service to people from our one-hundred-and-eighteen family waiting list.  For an entire year, a whole family of six only needs $3,000 to cover their food and housing expenses, or $250 a month.

This is a crucial moment in history for Afghanistan and its people; having undergone so much turmoil, how the government responds and the people adapt, will determine the futures of millions.  With an information cycle that never sleeps, it can be easy for ongoing crises to slip through the cracks as ever more dire news makes its way to us, but in times like these, it is essential to think about where we can make a difference, and take every opportunity we are afforded to do just that.