Beside basic food also fruit should be distributed to the needy
The international Christian relief organization Shelter Now supports deaf people and their families in Uzbekistan who are in great material need due to the Corona pandemic. So far, according to its German director Udo Stolte, the relief organization has provided 17,500 euros for food aid. According to Stolte, the goods are distributed through private initiative because there are no comparable non-governmental organizations in Uzbekistan.
People with disabilities, such as the deaf, would find it difficult in the countries of Central Asia anyway to find suitable work to feed themselves and their families, explains Stolte. As a result of the Corona pandemic, many were suddenly completely without income and were starving. There are reports that people have even eaten grass in their misery, the Shelter Now director said.
A project partner in Afghanistan, where the relief organization has been active for more than 30 years, pointed out the plight of the deaf in Uzbekistan. According to Udo Stolte, Shelter Now was able to raise the necessary amount for food aid with the support of a partner organization. Among other things, flour, sugar, cooking oil, rice, noodles and potatoes were distributed.
In the coming weeks Shelter Now would like to distribute additional fruit for the vitamin supply of the families in winter. “For this we still need more donations,” asks the Shelter Now director.
The distribution in Afghanistan’s neighboring country was difficult because the families in need of help mostly lived in remote villages and small towns, Stolte reports. In addition, the Corona crisis in Uzbekistan has restricted public transportation and access to these places.
Brunswick, November 26, 2020
About Shelter Now
Shelter Now is an international relief organization with a coordination office in Germany. It was active in Pakistan from 1983 to 2016. Work began in 1988 in Afghanistan and in 2014 in the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan (Northern Iraq). The name of the organization in Germany is “Shelter Now Germany e.V.”. Shelter Now finances its relief efforts to a large extent from private donations. Since 2006, the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI) has annually certified Shelter Now’s efficient and project-related use of funds with the donation seal of approval.
