Baghlan residents get emergency food aid, thanks to Bayat Foundation

Bayat Foundation officials distributed much-needed emergency food aid to at-risk, disabled, and displaced people and families in Baghlan province on Sunday as part of the charity’s ongoing efforts to provide food to as many people as possible across the country.

Included in the food parcels were flour, rice, and oil, which officials said will help families get through winter.

Bayat Foundation, which runs a winter aid campaign each year, recently stepped up efforts to reach as many at-risk people in the country. Already, tens of thousands of Afghans from around the country have received food parcels from the foundation.

The foundation’s deputy CEO, Haji Mohammad Ismail, told Ariana News that needy people, many of them disabled, received food aid on Sunday as part of their annual winter campaign.

“In continuation of Bayat Foundation’s campaign, today we distributed flour, rice and oil to deserving and disabled people. We will also distribute aid to people in other provinces,” he said.

“Bayat Charity Foundation continues to help at-risk people. We distributed foodstuff including flour, rice and oil to people after we identified those who were at risk,” said Khair Mohammad Saljoqi, a Bayat Foundation in northeastern Afghanistan.

Baghlan residents meanwhile welcomed the food parcels and said it would help ease the stress around the lack of food through winter.
“We are grateful to Bayat Foundation that helped us, they are patriotic and love their country,” said Guldana, a resident of Baghlan.
“Muslims are in a bad situation, they need one bag of flour, we are happy that Bayat Foundation assisted us,” said Tawab Udin, another Baghlan resident.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials meanwhile also welcomed the move and called on businesses and traders to also step in to help their fellow Afghans.

“We are grateful to Bayat Foundation as they helped people in need; people in Kunduz, Sheberghan, Jalalabad and Khost [among other provinces and cities],” said Abdur Raqeeb, a member of the IEA.

Bayat Foundation’s campaign comes amid an ongoing crisis in the country which is driving up poverty levels. The United Nations warned late last year that as many as 22 million people are going hungry and that a humanitarian crisis is busy unfolding.