Dear you, this week urgent medicine were delivered to shelter and life-saving surgery completed, but the crisis continues.

Heartbreak and Hope

This past weekend brought both heartbreak and hope. One of our Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) and her family were deported and are now in hiding in Afghanistan. She managed to cross the border undetected, but her life remains in grave danger.

Medical emergencies at the shelter
At the shelter in Pakistan, medical needs have reached a critical point:

• Several women are pregnant.
• One mother, who underwent a C-section two months ago, has had no chance to recover and is now suffering from preeclampsia (dangerously high blood pressure).
• Another woman is battling severe tonsillitis and needs to undergo surgery soon
• A three-year-old suffers hourly seizures and urgently needs medication to calm the storms in her brain.

Getting medical support into this remote and hidden location has been extraordinarily difficult.

Life-saving supplies delivered

Thanks to your support, we were finally able to deliver much-needed medicines, baby formula, and supplies. These reached the shelter just in time to prevent serious complications.

Dr. Mohammad Yama Shahab, himself an Afghan refugee doctor awaiting relocation to Brazil, has stepped up to provide voluntary care. In the videos below, you can see him preparing and sending the medical supplies — he continues to be a lifeline for this group, even under impossible circumstances.

🎥 https://youtu.be/UQx6Jqvii5I 

 🎥 https://youtube.com/shorts/umLQMXD0Sa4

A survivor’s story

Beyond the shelter, we also supported a woman who survived Taliban custody after being beaten and left with two spinal fractures. After a long and complicated surgery, doctors managed to repair her spine and stop a dangerous spinal fluid leak. She is now recovering at her home in Pakistan, reunited with her children.

The bigger picture

The situation remains dire. As Dr. Yama’s medical study shows, Afghan migrant women in Pakistan face an urgent but preventable health crisis. Poverty, displacement, and confinement indoors mean malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, and untreated conditions like osteoporosis are widespread. Without immediate intervention, these women risk long-term disability and suffering.

Please see full research study here.

That is why HeartWork has taken on the responsibility of providing medical care alongside trauma recovery and leadership training, while Food for Thought Afghanistan focuses on shelter and relocation. Even my 14 year old daughter has stepped in to help file medical reports (you can see here in the picture above) — this effort truly is a family and community commitment.

How you can help

Every donation you make goes directly to keeping these women and their families alive, safe, and healthy enough to reach resettlement.

💸 Donation Details
 Name: HeartWork Stichting
 https://heartwork.earth/peacework

Why your support matters

Your support not only provides medicine and food today — it helps these women heal, recover from trauma, and grow into the leaders Afghanistan will one day need.

“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” — Rumi

Thank you for standing with us.

With gratitude,
 Nadja & the HeartWork Team