Children of the Rubble
We have been working in this beleagured, war torn country since 2002.
Afghanistan is the poorest country in the world outside of Africa.
Life span is 43 years for a man,45 for a woman.
2 out of every 5 children are dead before their fifth birthday.
17% have access to Education.
13% have access to Health Services.
5% have access to fresh drinking water.
Afghanistan is one of the most heavily land mined countries in the world.
We started off in 2002 by putting together Medical Teams of local Doctors and Nurses,Pharmacists and Drivers and heading into the Hindu Kush mountains.We discovered villages, communities and refugee camps that hadn't seen a Doctor in 24 years and the children were dying-from preventable diseases.
For the following two years we continued, very successfully, with the medical convoys, operating once or twice a year. In 2004 we purchased our first vehicle which became our Mobile Clinic no 1.In January of 2007 we added another vehicle and medical team. Since then, our Mobile Clinics, have, with a Doctor, Midwife, Pharmacist and Driver on board, reached many thousands of vulnerable and isolated people reducing the infant mortality rate, from preventable diseases, to zero.
We cover 38 mountain communities and refugee camps in the Hindu Kush.
On many occassions the Central Government in Kabul and the Regional Government in Baglan province have requested our help as an emergency response unit, delivering vaccines/medicines/medical teams and sometimes, food, to communities cut off by extreme weather conditions.
We have delivered 10 computers and Educational tools/equipment to schools in Baglan Province, mainly in the capitol, Pul-i-khumri.
In our compound in Pul-i-Khumri we run a small school for 25 students, all boys,due to presssure from the Taliban on the non teaching of girls.The students are given extra lessons,of their choice,in English,Maths,Science and Computer Training.
Spirit Aid employs 14 people in Afghanistan, all local.We run a very successful and unique operation Managed by Dr Din Mohammad, an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist and the Head of our Medical Team is Dr Naji, one of the top Paediatricians in the country.The work they do is highly respected and we are constantly inundated with requests from communities we haven't yet reached.
Over the next few years, given the right level of funding, we hope to increase the number of Mobile Clinics and therefore the number of people that we can reach and treat.
Our partners in Afghanistan who have given us invaluable help in the past have been the Halo Trust, and Mercy Core, to whom we are indebted.