Due to growing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the government of Pakistan has ordered all undocumented Afghans to acquire a passport and a valid visa or return to their country of origin. As a result, Afghanistan is now facing an escalating humanitarian crisis with over one million Afghans expected to have returned to Afghanistan by the end of 2016. Many of them had been living in Pakistan for decades and some had never set foot in Afghanistan before.
Forced to leave, these returning refugees have nowhere to go. They arrive with limited or no money, no material assets, without a job or a roof over their heads and no livelihood to speak of. With winter well on its way, they now have to face the huge challenge of surviving the bitter cold of Afghanistan.
Save the Children supports the most vulnerable returning refugee children and their families with WakaWakas as a complementary element of their winter survival kit along with other much needed and life-saving support.