As the Taliban continue their march across Afghanistan, more than a half-million Afghans have fled their homes, fearing the reinstation of fundamentalist Islamic rule. Maybe fear the retribution of working with or for the U.S. Government.

Nations worldwide are opening their doors to take in these refugees, but their need is still dire. Nonprofit groups are stepping up to try and help handle the surge of refugees and tackling the essential requirements of food, water, and shelter.

The images of Afghans' overwhelming airports and other emergency departure areas are heartbreaking. While nonprofits are doing everything they can to meet the Afghans' needs, they need all of our help.

This list contains three different ways you can help the plight of those fleeing Afghanistan today.

Learn more about the Afghanistan crisis

One of the easiest ways to help is to understand what is going on. Before 2021 Afghanistan already produced the second-largest number of refugees in Syria, and this number has skyrocketed in the last six months.

Understanding the challenges this region faces, decimated by war, and the complex issues that have caused individuals and families to flee can help you know how you can help more thoroughly.

You can learn more here:

https://www.rescue.org/article/what-happening-afghanistan

Donate an Airbnb stay

If you own a property listed on Airbnb, you can donate a stay for a family in crisis. If you don't own property yourself, you can donate the cost of a night stay (or many night stays!) on Airbnb.

Donating a place for someone to stay during the crisis can help families land on their feet.

Learn more about donating with Airbnb here:

https://www.airbnb.org/get-involved?locale=en

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Donate to nonprofits

Learning more about Afghans and their plight and donating stays can be helpful. Most of the genuinely impactful work will be done by nonprofits with long experience helping refugees.

Supporting these organizations in their mission can make a massive difference. It can be not very clear who is helping in this crisis and finding the right group to donate can be difficult so we've curated a list for you:

• International Rescue Committee
• Refugees International
• USA for UNHCR
• Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
• LDS Philanthropies

Regardless of how you help, Afghans need our help.

It's become commonplace to make fun of people sending thoughts and prayers to individuals in a crisis. And while it is always better to do something substantial, like those mentioned previously in the article, thinking about and caring about the individuals fleeing their homeland is an essential first step.

Hopefully, as we open our hearts, we can keep them open as we invite Afghans into our neighborhoods, communities, and workplaces.

As we see the struggles of these people play out on our smartphones and social media sites in front of us, let us all remember that these are real people with dreams and passions that can help change the world If we can give them a soft landing.

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