Two neighbouring nations are facing heartbreaking disasters — Afghanistan, shaken by deadly earthquakes, and Pakistan, overwhelmed by catastrophic flooding. Both crises have left families grieving, homeless, and in urgent need of our help.
Afghanistan Earthquakes
On 31 August 2025, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, devastating Kunar and Nangarhar provinces. More than 1400 lives have been lost and over 3,500 injuries. Entire villages were almost completely destroyed — in some cases 90% of residents feared dead or injured.
Amid this devastation, one of our network contacts has been working quietly and carefully, as an underground emergency operation. We cannot disclose specific details publicly for security reasons, but they are in the field and with the people.
From within this known network, a number of families have been severely affected. Many have lost multiple loved ones, sometimes two, three, or even four members in a single day. Others are left injured, in poor health, with their homes destroyed.
Our contacts have promised these families that they will not be abandoned in their time of suffering. With limited resources on the ground, our focus is first on standing with these families — bringing them comfort, relief, and the assurance that they are not forgotten.
How Your Gift Can Help in Afghanistan
Your gift directly supports families in crisis:
NZD $1,700 per family — to cover urgent expenses, including burial costs for loved ones and basic needs for the next two weeks.
Provides dignity in grief and the assurance that families are not left alone.
Ensures survival during this most critical window of recovery.
Pakistan Floods
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, the worst floods in Punjab’s history are sweeping through towns and farmland. Over 2 million people are affected, with more than 1400 villages submerged. Across the country, the death toll is now over 800 with hundreds missing. Almost one million people have been evacuated from their homes, many with nothing but the clothes they wore as the waters rose.
Families have lost homes, crops, and livestock. In Punjab alone, over 760,000 people and half a million animals have been displaced, while nearly 700 relief camps and 265 medical camps are overwhelmed by the scale of need. The floods have devastated Pakistan’s agricultural heartland, wiping out rice, maize, cotton, and sugarcane — threatening local food security and the nation’s economy.
On the ground
Through national partners already serving in the region, we are able to provide assistance for the most severely affected by the floods. Aid is being distributed quickly and effectively, ensuring help reaches the right people while also combining physical relief with spiritual encouragement.
How Your Gift Can Help in Pakistan
How Your Gift Can Help in Pakistan
Your gift today will bring life-saving relief to families who have lost everything. Donations will be used to provide:
Safe water & hygiene: purification tablets, jerry cans, soap, sanitary pads, ORS, and medicines.
Dry food rations (7–10 days): flour, rice, lentils, oil, tea, sugar and salt.
Shelter supplies: tarpaulins, rope, mats, blankets and mosquito nets.
Emergency assistance: transport, medicine, and urgent expenses.
Care for children: safety, nutrition, and emotional support in temporary camps.
Why We Must Respond
In moments like these, our faith gives us clear direction. Jesus said: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:40). These are communities in crisis - mothers cradling hungry children, fathers searching for lost loved ones, villages crying out for hope.
We cannot look away. Our calling is to stand with the suffering, to bring not only prayers but also practical help that reflects the compassion of Christ.
A Prayer for Afghanistan & Pakistan
Heavenly Father,
Our hearts are heavy as we lift before You the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Lord, bring comfort to those who mourn, healing to the injured, and shelter to the displaced. We pray for children who are hungry, for families who have lost homes and livelihoods, and for communities struggling in despair.
Grant wisdom and strength to those providing rescue and relief. May resources flow swiftly to where they are needed most. Stir our hearts with Your compassion, that we may respond generously, as Christ taught us to love “the least of these.”
We ask for Your mercy to cover these lands, for hope to rise from devastation, and for Your light to shine in the darkness. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Michael Hanson
Executive Director