Responding to Crisis

Afghanistan

As soon as Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, the Spirit of America team began an all- hands-on-deck response to support the US efforts to evacuate and care for Afghans who had served the US mission.

Our partnership with the US military put us in a position to support evacuation efforts. By working directly with US Central Command and coordinating with numerous other organizations, we organized flight manifests and helped at-risk Afghans get to the Kabul airport and through security checkpoints.

48 hours after the fall, Spirit of America’s Middle East Director Zack Bazzi was on the ground in Qatar, a primary destination for Afghans being evacuated by the United States.

Spirit of America provided emergency assistance to more than 25,000 evacuees in Qatar, including “farewell” aid packages tailored for Afghans leaving the country. Packages of clothing, hygiene supplies, and more were customized for women, men, boys, girls, and babies.

Albania

On August 17, the US Embassy in Albania asked Spirit of America to help meet the expected needs of Afghan evacuees.

Europe Regional Director Colleen Denny arrived 36 hours later and for the next seven months, we provided food, shelter, and for the daily needs of 121 Afghan evacuees as they awaited resettlement.

The 121 evacuees under Spirit of America’s care in Albania included 63 women and 38 children. They were sponsored by Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and Lt. General (Ret.) H.R. McMaster.

Rahwa was one of the children who, alongside her family, was evacuated from Kabul to Albania.

Soon after her arrival, we learned she had a rare, congenital heart defect, and because of this she was only getting a fraction of the oxygen she needs.

In September 2022, Rahwa successfully underwent her first major operation: the Glenn Procedure, a type of open-heart surgery which sends blood from the upper body directly to the lungs. This way, the single ventricle only has to pump blood to the body (and not to the lungs), so it does not have to work as hard.

She recovered quickly and is busy attending kindergarten in Philadelphia!

Tajikistan

Spirit of America responded to several refugee needs identified by the US State Department, including funding the operations of a school in Tajikistan that serves 500 Afghan students, 48% of whom are girls.

Germany and Kosovo

In addition to the assistance provided on US bases in Qatar, we provided humanitarian aid to Afghan evacuees at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo.

Spirit of America has, and always will be committed to the people of Afghanistan.