Christmas Appeal

This year I travelled to two of the most heavily mine-affected countries in the world, Cambodia and Afghanistan, as part of my work for Austcare. I’d like to share with you the stories of two families, one in Afghanistan and one in Cambodia. While they live in very different countries, they have similar stories to tell.

When I was in Cambodia, I saw how people risk their lives daily by venturing onto mine-contaminated land to travel to work or find food to provide for their family. Children may travel to school or tend animals on mined land. While adults are often maimed, children are less likely to survive a landmine encounter.

Soi Siy and his wife, 46 year old Dee Rain, live in Cambodia and have six children. Siy has been a farmer all his life, but he was only able to grow rice and a few poor quality vegetables. A lack of wells and ponds in the area led to significant crop loss during the dry season and more time and energy spent gathering water from distant sources. They used to live on a primary road, but had to sell and move to cheaper land further away. To make matters worse, in 2001 Siy stepped on a landmine in the forest, losing most of one of his legs and receiving shrapnel injuries to his other foot. It was almost a year before he could return to farming – and even then he could only advise and coordinate the work his wife and children were doing.

My trip to Afghanistan was equally confronting. Decades of war have devastated the country and left many people amputees or with a disability. In many countries like Afghanistan, having a disability further marginalises these people and their families. There is little support for people with disabilities, few work opportunities and society often shuns them. Many children in Afghanistan are forced to beg on the street because their injured parents can’t work.

In Kabul, Afghanistan, I met 36 year old Zakira. With her 47 year old husband, Asadullah, she has six children. Asadullah works as a cleaner in a hospital, but doesn’t earn enough to send all of his children to school. During the fight for Kabul in the mid-1990s, a rocket hit their house, destroying parts of their home and injuring Zakira. She received medical attention in hospital and made some recovery, but they didn’t have enough money for serious medical treatment and her leg is now paralysed. After the accident they took their children to Ghazni, away from the worst of the conflict, where they lived for six years. They have since returned to Kabul, where they now live with Zakira’s parents, as they can’t afford a home of their own.

But now, thanks to Austcare supporters like yourself, both families have a new story to tell. Siy is now involved in Austcare’s Model Farm program. Austcare provided training in crop diversification and livestock raising, and supplied tools, equipment, quality seeds and trees. In addition, a pond was dug and filled with fingerlings, and a coop established with chickens. Now the Soi family has plenty of food to eat and a constant source of income through selling a variety of seasonal products. His property is serving as a learning and training farm for his local village, and Siy shares his new knowledge with other farmers. Click here to read Siy's 12 year old daughter, Samune, talking about how Austcare's work
has changed her life too.

Zakira is participating in an Austcare vocational training program in Kabul for people with disabilities. She is studying to become a beauty therapist. When she has completed the course, she will be given job placement assistance and be able to gain experience. Soon, Zakira plans to open her own salon through a small-business loan and continued business support from the program. Her whole family is excited, especially her children who can now continue their schooling. Zakira's 9 year old daughter, Bahara, tells what her mother's involvement in the prorgam, means to her. 

In each country where Austcare works, there are many more families who don’t yet have a happy story to tell. This Christmas, you can help give some of these families a new beginning and help them get back on their feet.

Your gift of:

$35 can provide 5 chickens for a family in Cambodia

$50 can provide hoes and rakes for 11 chilli farmers in Aceh

$80 can provide a chicken pen in Cambodia, or

$250 will provide training for a person with a disability in Afghanistan.

Please give generously to Austcare to help more families become self-sufficient, have enough food to eat and be able to send their children to school.

Warm regards
James Turton
Austcare Mine Action Program Officer

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