The Orphan Crisis of Afghanistan

Four years ago, there were 68 public orphanages in Afghanistan to help abandoned children, but today, only half a dozen are left and they are barely surviving, as many foreign aid organizations have fled and taken their funding with them.

“Afghan donors, foreign donors, embassies – when I call them or email them, no one is answering,” reports Ahmad Khali Mayan, program director at an orphanage in Kabul. Mayan, 40, told Reuters news agency at the sprawling Shamsa Children’s Village north of the capital that no one is answering his call for help.

Many relief agencies have not only lost access to funding, but also to staff. The majority of western relief agencies providing help for children in Afghanistan were staffed by women, but the Taliban’s chilling announcement in December 2022 banning women from working with NGOs has forced many of them to close their doors. Globally, Afghanistan ranks dead last at 170th out of 170 countries for women’s inclusion.

This has led to many children being turned away and fending for themselves on the streets. This year, close to half of the entire population of Afghanistan is facing starvation and people are simply not able to spare extra food for homeless children.

This is why BTJ missionaries are focusing so strongly on orphaned children in Afghanistan. Through a network of underground house church believers, BTJ is able to help many of these children survive the crisis.

For only $16 USD, BTJ can provide a warm home, food, and a safe bed for a month. Through this wide network of underground Christian believers in Afghanistan, BTJ is able to provide safe homes, shelter, and love for children located throughout the country. Every month, BTJ sends funds to help these families buy food, clothing, and pay for schooling for orphaned children who have nowhere else to go. Through the network, the children are also taught about the salvation of Jesus Christ, which is in direct contrast to the teachings of Islam that they are taught by the Taliban.

Children are the most vulnerable victims of the Taliban regime. According to the Oxford Academic International Health report, half of all Afghan children under the age of 5 years old are living with acute malnutrition, and at least 1 million children are expected to die of starvation.

Here is a special letter from one of the network leaders who is helping the children:

Warm greetings to our brothers and sisters and servants in the Lord Jesus Christ whose letters and support have been such an encouragement to the underground church in Afghanistan.

I would like to inform you of the dire situation of widows in Afghanistan. May our Lord be gloried in this dark land. In the state that we live in, much like other states, the number of widows and children without a father is numerous. The country of Afghanistan has not been able to have peace in the last 50 years. During this past 50 years millions of lives have been lost of which most have been men, leaving many children and widows in great need and great sorrow.

This has left widows in desperate situations to provide food for their children or to clothe them. Since the Taliban took over, these widows have not been able to leave their home to work and to provide for their children. Some widows try to leave their home and beg for food but unfortunately, due to the hostile situation in Afghanistan, these women are often raped and murdered, leaving their children as orphans. It is heartbreaking watching these starving children waiting for their mothers to come home.

This is the pain and anguish of these women who spend their night in tears for their children and spend their days searching for a piece of bread for their starving children. As a Christian my heart aches and I pray for God to open doors that the mouths of these children would be fed.

Recently we started working with these widows to sew and knit. If we can purchase a few sewing machines and some knitting material, we can help these women work from home. This small gift can help bring so much hope to these women and to find a life filled with hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe that this is close to the heart of God and Jesus Christ came to this world for such as these. “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” – James 1:27 NASB