Bags of emergency food aid line a paddock in Herat province, recently hit by violent earthquakes leaving thousands struggling to survive.
“It’s terrible, we know of a child who has lost 34 members of their family,” says Nawid ‘Sourosh’ Cina, vice president of Australian charity Mahboba’s Promise.
“And they are still pulling people out of the rubble, literally with their bare hands.”
Four large earthquakes and numerous aftershocks impacted Afghanistan's Herat province in October. The vast number of injured quickly overwhelmed local hospitals, many already struggling to cope with a lack of medical equipment.
UNICEF reports that 90 per cent of around 2,000 people reported killed were women and children.
“Whole families have been wiped out. Aid cannot reach them, especially those in rural areas. And that's where we are targeting,” Mr Cina says.
Aid being distributed in Herat province, Afghanistan. Source: Supplied / Mahboba's Promise
“We have reached more than 4,000 people so far,” says Mr Cina. “And per family we have sent 50 kilograms of wheat flour, 10 kilograms of rice, five kilograms of oil, sugar tea, red beans as protein.”
A multi-sectoral Herat Earthquake Response Plan says that $93 million will be needed to support 114,000 earthquake-affected people in Herat over the next six months.
For Mr Cina, a human rights lawyer, Afghanistan’s humanitarian challenges are nothing new. He has grown up with Mahboba's Promise, the charity founded by his mother 26 years ago.
Mr Cina now oversees 50 staff in Afghanistan, across three Hope House orphanages as well schools and health clinics.
But running programs has become more challenging since the Taliban regained control in 2021.
"Most of the girls' schools are unfortunately closed and inactive, and many of the vocational training programs for widows have also gone underground," he says.
"However, we do have an educational program that targets 10,000 high school girls and we're reaching them online in their homes so they can to continue their school curriculum."
Working with his mother Mahboba Rawi, in recent years Mr Cina also led a dangerous mission to rescue women and children.
“We've evacuated more than 100 people from Afghanistan. Of those, 50 were orphans from the Hope Houses, which were at direct risk.
“And to our knowledge this is the largest number of unaccompanied children Australia has evacuated in its history.”
But Mr Cina says decades of conflict and natural disasters in Afghanistan have made it harder for people to recover from this latest crisis.
Earthquake damage in Herat province, Afghanistan. Source: Supplied / Mahboba's Promise
As well, aid groups say global attention is focussed on the Hamas-Israel conflict and support for Afghanistan is falling short.
“Survivors are sleeping in outside in tents. It's starting to get very cold, and winter is coming,” says Caritas Australia Humanitarian Emergency Lead Sally Thomas.
Caritas says 3,000 mainly mud brick homes were completely destroyed around Herat and thousands more rendered uninhabitable.
“Caritas is requesting funds to finance our colleagues and partners to provide emergency relief, which is food, water, shelter for the winter."
Mr Cina says longer-term trauma and loss will impact survivors for many years.
“We have sent workers with professional expertise in mental health first aid response.
“We have also sent a bunch of activities, games and books for these children, and we'll be guiding them through that process as well
“But they will need decades of help.”
