'You helped me flee and gave me my wings. Now I am free. My kids and I are safe. I promise you my aim is to do good in the world so I can help others as you helped me.'

The words of Neema* - one of the 70 risk Afghan women we have helped to evacuate to safety this year. When Neema was referred to us she was in fear for her life and in hiding from the Taliban with her two children. A young widow, Neema had supported herself by working as an English teacher and women's rights advocate, active and well known in her local rural community. She often stood up for other women who had marriage problems or wanted to get a divorce. She helped them understand their legal rights. This brought her into conflict with religious conservatives. So it's no surprise that when the Taliban took over the country last year, Neema was reported to the Taliban. Within days the local Taliban had issued a warrant for her arrest, accusing her of prositution and spying for foreign forces. She fled her home and went into hiding.

We were able to assist Neema by safely evacuating her to a neighbouring country where we then supported her to apply for a humanitarian visa to Europe. This little family are safe and beginning their new life. The brave Neema is now an active part of our network, in turn assisting other women who are still in danger.

And that is a wonderful thing to behold. It's proof that positive actions beget positive actions. Those who are helped go onto to help others.

The International Community may have forgotten Afghanistan. But we have not. Since this crowdfund began we have assisted 70 at risk women and their families to flee, and claim asylum in safe countries. We have provided scores of others with emergency sustainment, food or fuel to stay warm. We have also helped to fund medical treatment for a young girl who needed emergency heart surgery; and we are delighted to have funded safe births for five different women with pregnancy complications who needed access to safe caesearans.

But the pleas for help keep coming. A former female prosecutor who has received a death sentence; a musician whose instruments were destroyed and who now hides in a relatives house, unable to go outside for fear; a family with a child in need of urgent medical care; an artist who has been told they will be captured and made an example of. It can be overwhelming.

The brutal truth is some cases are a race against time. Lack of funds meant we couldn't evacuate one female activist we were trying to help in time. She and her daughters were killed. The weight of that is hard to bear.

But if the past year has taught us anything it is that family by family, person by person we CAN and ARE making a difference. Every life counts. And together we can help to save more at risk Afghan women.

Right now we need to raise 8k in the next week to pay for flights for 16 individuals who just received humanitarian visas to Spain. Refugees have to pay for their own flights even where visas are granted. They are almost there, please help us get them over the line so they can begin their new lives.

We know times are tough for everyone right now. But please consider donating as much as you can comfortably manage. Small rain drops become oceans. If you cannot donate, please share.

Money will be spent on helping with travel arrangements, providing safe shelters for women and children, delivering food, blankets, fuel, medical care and life-saving medications to others.

100% of donations go towards the following:

1) Phone credit topped up via ding.com (or equivalent sites). **One month's phone credit costs $18**

2) Food and other necessities i.e., medicine if available, plus delivery fees. **Food & basic necessities (i.e., fuel, blankets) for a family of 4 costs around $150/month.**

3) Safe-houses and safe transport through reputable organisations working on the ground. **A safe house for very high value targets including food, security & transport for a family of 4 costs on average $100/day**

4) Visas and passport application fees (**prices fluctuate depending on visa type**)

5) Supporting a family in a third country while they wait for their resettlement varies from $500-$800 per month.

6) Flights to a safe country where humanitarian visas have been granted.

We cannot, for obvious reasons, promise to be completely transparent in respect of where the money goes. We can assure we will not pocket a penny of your donation and that it will be spent on keeping people safe and alive, aiding their evacuation and supporting them in a 3rd country.