Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

This year, Petros and I have decided to give to Women for Afghan Women (WAW) in lieu of giving and receiving Christmas presents as we were both very moved by the events of this summer in Afghanistan. The Taliban takeover has set back women’s rights by decades, and the images of families desperately trying to escape the country have really stuck with us.

It is difficult to work out the best way to directly support people in these situations, but having done some research, we felt that WAW was a very worthy recipient of funding to help the victims of this humanitarian crisis.

Women for Afghan Women is a grassroots civil society organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and New York. In particular, WAW works to help Afghan women and girls exercise their rights to pursue their individual potential to self-determination, and to representation in all areas of life—political, social, cultural, and economic. WAW relentlessly advocates for women’s rights and challenges the norms that underpin gender-based violence to influence attitudes and bring about change. The key to their enduring impact over the past 20 years is that they always hire locally using a bottom-up approach, local knowledge, and a deep understanding of and sensitivity to local culture, traditions, customs, and challenges.

Whilst they have necessarily had to temporarily suspend some of their operations, they are continuing many essential services, doing everything they can to protect and support clients who still want to get out of Afghanistan, and providing services to women, children, and internally displaced persons in Afghanistan under their care. At the same time, an unprecedented wave of new Afghan refugees have already arrived in the US and will continue to do so. The WAW team in the US is working around the clock to make sure that Afghan refugees are welcomed warmly and supported as they rebuild their lives in the US. WAW will be there for them until they can stand on their own.

Thank you very much for joining us in supporting this essential charity this year.

With love,

Cat and Petros xx