Hope and resilience amid hardship in Afghanistan

Afghanistan has mostly disappeared from the global news cycle, but the hardship faced by its people, especially children, has worsened over the last two years.  

I wanted to see the situation for myself, and how our colleagues have adjusted their efforts under the new circumstances. For a week I travelled the breadth of Afghanistan, from Herat in the west to Torkham on the eastern border with Pakistan. I met mothers, children and young volunteers who are striving to improve the lives of their fellow Afghans. I saw suffering and desperate poverty. But what struck me most of all was the hospitality and resilience of the Afghan people. They do not give up, and we should not give up on them.  

This is my field diary.