The Afghanistan Joint Response – an initiative of the Dutch Relief Alliance – reached some 77,000 people with life-sustaining humanitarian assistance during the first six months of 2017. The programme provided housing, food, temporary shelter and clean drinking water to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees and other communities affected by the conflict inside Afghanistan.

This help is desperately needed. More than one million people inside Afghanistan have been forced from their homes due to violent conflict. An influx of refugees returning ‘home’ from Pakistan and Iran has also contributed to the instability inside Afghanistan.

Eight leading Dutch NGOs – in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands – have come together to respond to the needs of these vulnerable communities. The combined efforts of these organisations are efficient and effective – and make a tangible difference in people’s lives.

People like Abdul directly benefit from the work of the DRA. This video is the first in a series of portraits from Afghanistan that we will publish on this website over the coming months. These portraits highlight the importance of the DRA’s work – and what it means to people like Abdul. This is his story.

Photography (C) Cordaid / Frank van Lierde