As international charities pulled out or faced funding issues after the Taliban takeover, Aseel, an online business that sells local crafts, wondered: Could it help ease the rising wave of hunger?
Nasrat Khalid founded a company called Aseel to sell crafts from his native Afghanistan online. He pivoted to charity work after the Taliban took over, initially drawing on cash reserves to provide shelter and food to displaced Afghans. He now works from Arlington, Virginia, where he was photographed on Aug. 31.Nasrat Khalid founded a company called Aseel to sell crafts from his native Afghanistan online.
"Then came August," he added, referring to the Taliban takeover of 2021 — and Aseel took on a new mission. With fewer humanitarian aid groups in the country, Aseel sought to fill the void. In early August 2021, the mobile app added a category for 'Emergency Support' so individual donors could help those in need.
The app is now among the most reliable platforms to extend support to Afghans, says Jason Howk, a U.S. army veteran who co-founded, a nonprofit group that advocates for human rights and humanitarian issues. One family that has benefited is that of 48-year-old Gul Makai, a single mother of six from Ghazni province."All my children were starving because I lost my income after the Taliban takeover," says Makai, who used to work in a private office."Women in our village are not allowed to work anymore," she tells NPR.
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