Greetings,

This past week, Spirit of America helped distribute 2,100 “farewell” care packages to the last Afghan evacuees in Qatar.

More than 58,000 Afghans evacuated by the US government were flown to military facilities in Qatar, where they were processed and screened before being transferred to more permanent locations. In the last three weeks, working alongside US military teams, other nonprofit organizations, the International Organization for Migration, and local partners and vendors, we were able to rapidly provide humanitarian assistance to thousands of these evacuees.

After completing US operations at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 31, Afghans in Qatar were being quickly flown out in large numbers to the US, Europe, and elsewhere. Most lacked necessary provisions.

Shirts, pants, dresses, underwear, shoes, baby bottles, coloring books, hygiene supplies—these were essential items they needed as they transitioned to and settled in their next destination.

Time was short. And we wanted to help the largest number of Afghans possible.

So, our Spirit of America team got to work.

With our local partner in Qatar, Lulu Hypermarket, we assembled, packaged, and labeled 2,100 aid packages in under 18 hours. We tailored assistance packages for women, men, kids, and babies. The same day this was completed, we delivered the supplies—four truckloads—to a US facility and helped distribute them to displaced Afghans before they boarded their planes.

It was a mammoth logistical undertaking, involving many stakeholders and thousands of recipients. When dealing with such a massive scale, it’s understandably easy to get caught up with the numbers and metrics. But when, during the distribution, I would see a warm smile on a child’s face, a mother feeling reassured, a father expressing gratitude, I was reminded why this work matters.

These boxes were not just packages of supplies. They were a demonstration of American goodwill and compassion, a silver lining during these taxing times.

We can’t do this without you, our generous supporters. Your overwhelming support for our Afghanistan Emergency Fund has blown us all away.

On behalf of the entire Spirit of America team, thank you.

Sincerely,

Zack Bazzi
Regional Director, Middle East and Central Asia

PS: Spirit of America is providing assistance to Afghans in other countries, too. We have a team on the ground in Albania, supporting Afghans with temporary housing, food, and clothing. And, we just provided blankets and hygiene supplies to 5,000 evacuees in Germany. Follow us on social media @SpiritAmerica for real-time updates.