Helping earthquake-affected families secure shelter, protection and essential assistance during winter
TYPE: Emergency Relief – Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance and Protection under the DERF Rapid Response Mechanism
IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD: 24 November 2025 – 23 March 2026
GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS: Kunar Province, Afghanistan
DONOR: Danish Emergency Relief Fund (DERF), administered by CISU
GRANT HOLDER: Rebuild Aid Forening, Denmark
LOCAL IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION: Saifrood Unity and Aid Organization (SUAO)
TARGET GROUP: 200 highly vulnerable earthquake-affected families, including 99 female-headed households, children, older persons, persons with disabilities and families without adequate temporary shelter
Project Overview
A severe earthquake in Kunar Province caused extensive destruction across already vulnerable and difficult-to-reach communities. Homes were damaged or completely destroyed, families lost essential household belongings, and many people were forced to live in unsafe temporary conditions as winter approached.
The disaster placed affected households at immediate risk of homelessness, exposure to cold weather, illness, food insecurity and further displacement. Women-headed households, children, older persons, persons with disabilities and families without stable income faced particularly serious protection concerns.
In response, Saifrood Unity and Aid Organization implemented a rapid cash-based humanitarian intervention in partnership with Rebuild Aid Forening and with financial support from the Danish Emergency Relief Fund.
The project provided unrestricted cash assistance to 200 earthquake-affected families, enabling households to secure temporary shelter, purchase warm clothing and food, obtain medicine, pay for transportation and address other urgent needs according to their individual circumstances.
Humanitarian Context
The earthquake affected communities situated in mountainous areas where access to markets, healthcare, transportation and humanitarian services was already limited.
Many families suddenly found themselves living in damaged homes, tents or makeshift shelters that offered insufficient protection from rain, wind and winter temperatures. Some households had lost income-generating assets, household supplies and access to essential services at the same time.
The destruction of local roads, bridges and community infrastructure further complicated access and delayed support to remote settlements. As a result, rapid and flexible assistance was required to prevent the emergency from developing into a deeper protection and displacement crisis.
Cash assistance was selected because household needs differed significantly. While one family urgently needed to rent a temporary room, another required medicine, food, transportation, winter clothing or materials to strengthen a damaged shelter.
Target Population
The intervention supported 200 highly vulnerable earthquake-affected households identified through field assessments and household-level verification.
Priority was given to:
- Female-headed households
- Families whose homes were destroyed or rendered unsafe
- Households with young children
- Older persons living without sufficient family support
- Persons with disabilities
- Families with urgent medical needs
- Households without stable income
- Families facing heightened protection concerns
- Households with limited or no access to other assistance
A total of 99 supported households were headed by women, reflecting the project’s focus on families facing heightened economic, social and protection risks.
Needs Assessment and Beneficiary Selection
SUAO field teams conducted rapid assessments in affected communities to understand the scale of damage, identify urgent humanitarian needs and determine which households were facing the most serious risks.
The selection process included:
- Household registration
- Verification of earthquake-related damage
- Assessment of shelter conditions
- Review of household composition
- Identification of protection and medical vulnerabilities
- Assessment of income and access to alternative support
- Consultation with community representatives and local structures
- Cross-checking beneficiary information to reduce duplication
Beneficiaries were selected according to documented humanitarian vulnerability criteria rather than personal, political, ethnic or community affiliations.
Unrestricted Cash Assistance
Each selected household received emergency cash assistance of AFN 11,680 through bank transfers.
The use of formal banking channels strengthened transparency, reduced the risks associated with physical cash handling and provided a documented transfer trail.
The assistance could be used according to each family’s priorities, including:
- Renting temporary accommodation
- Repairing damaged shelter
- Purchasing tarpaulins or other temporary shelter materials
- Buying blankets and winter clothing
- Purchasing food and drinking water
- Obtaining medicine and healthcare
- Paying for transportation
- Replacing essential household items
- Meeting children’s urgent needs
- Addressing other immediate recovery expenses
Because the assistance was unrestricted, households retained control over how to respond to their own needs. This approach protected dignity and avoided assuming that all affected families required the same type of support.
Key Project Activities
The intervention included:
- Rapid humanitarian needs assessments
- Registration and verification of affected households
- Transparent vulnerability-based beneficiary selection
- Delivery of emergency unrestricted cash assistance
- Coordination with local shuras, community leaders and relevant authorities
- Community awareness before cash transfers
- Protection-sensitive engagement with vulnerable households
- Monitoring of bank transfers and beneficiary receipt
- Household follow-up after assistance
- Post-Distribution Monitoring
- Complaints and feedback management
- Documentation of results, challenges and lessons learned
Protection and Safeguarding
Protection considerations were integrated throughout assessment, registration, verification, cash delivery and follow-up.
SUAO gave particular attention to households whose members could face barriers in accessing assistance, including women-headed households, older persons and persons with disabilities.
The project sought to ensure that:
- Assistance was provided safely and respectfully
- Beneficiaries received clear information about the process
- Personal information was handled confidentially
- No beneficiary was required to pay or provide a favour to receive assistance
- Vulnerable individuals could raise concerns through confidential channels
- Safeguarding and exploitation concerns were referred appropriately
- Assistance did not expose recipients to additional security or protection risks
The intervention was implemented in accordance with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning
SUAO integrated a structured Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning framework throughout the intervention.
Monitoring activities included:
- Verification of beneficiary information
- Review of assessment and registration records
- Monitoring of bank transfer documentation
- Confirmation that beneficiaries received the intended amount
- Field visits to affected communities
- Follow-up interviews with supported households
- Monitoring of protection and access concerns
- Review of complaints and feedback
- Documentation of implementation challenges
- Analysis of project results and operational learning
The purpose of monitoring was not to restrict how families used unrestricted cash, but to assess whether assistance was received safely, whether it helped address urgent needs and whether the process was accessible, fair and accountable.
Information gathered through the MEAL system was reviewed by programme teams and used to improve implementation and strengthen future emergency responses.
Post-Distribution Monitoring
Following the cash transfers, SUAO conducted Post-Distribution Monitoring with beneficiary households to assess the relevance, accessibility, safety and effectiveness of the assistance.
The PDM process examined:
- Whether beneficiaries received the full amount
- Whether transfers were received on time
- How households used the assistance
- Whether cash helped address their most urgent priorities
- Whether beneficiaries experienced barriers accessing the bank transfer
- Satisfaction with registration and delivery procedures
- Awareness of complaints and feedback channels
- Any protection, fraud or safeguarding concerns
- Remaining household needs after distribution
- Recommendations for improving future cash interventions
The monitoring confirmed that families used the assistance for a combination of temporary shelter, food, medicine, warm clothing, transportation and essential household expenses.
Beneficiary feedback also showed the importance of flexible cash support in a context where household needs varied considerably. The findings contributed to organisational learning and informed improvements to SUAO’s cash-assistance procedures, beneficiary communication and follow-up systems.
Accountability to Affected Populations
SUAO maintained direct communication with communities before, during and after the delivery of assistance.
Beneficiaries were informed about:
- The objective of the project
- Eligibility and selection criteria
- The value of the cash grant
- The bank-transfer process
- Expected timelines
- Their right to receive assistance free of charge
- Complaints and feedback channels
- Confidentiality and data protection
Community members could submit questions, feedback or complaints through SUAO’s established accountability mechanisms.
Feedback was registered, reviewed and addressed according to the nature and sensitivity of each case. Serious concerns relating to fraud, corruption, safeguarding or exploitation were handled through confidential referral pathways.
Coordination and Community Participation
The intervention was implemented in close coordination with local shuras, community representatives and relevant authorities.
Community engagement supported:
- Identification of affected locations
- Communication about assessment procedures
- Verification of community-level information
- Safe organisation of project activities
- Reduction of misinformation and tension
- Inclusion of vulnerable and less-visible households
- Follow-up with families in remote communities
While community representatives contributed local knowledge, SUAO retained responsibility for applying documented vulnerability criteria and verifying final beneficiary eligibility.
Main Results
The project achieved the following results:
- 200 earthquake-affected families received emergency cash assistance.
- 99 female-headed households were included among the supported families.
- Each household received AFN 11,680 through a bank transfer.
- Families were able to address their own priorities, including shelter, food, medicine, clothing and transportation.
- Immediate risks of homelessness, winter exposure and health complications were reduced.
- Vulnerable households gained greater stability during the critical months after the earthquake.
- Transparent registration, verification and transfer procedures strengthened accountability.
- Post-Distribution Monitoring generated evidence about assistance use, beneficiary satisfaction and remaining needs.
- SUAO strengthened its capacity in cash programming, protection, MEAL, PDM, banking-based transfers and emergency coordination.
Humanitarian Impact
The project enabled affected families to regain a degree of safety and control following a sudden and devastating disaster.
For households whose homes had collapsed or become unsafe, the cash grant made it possible to rent temporary accommodation, reinforce shelter structures or obtain materials that offered greater protection from winter weather.
For families facing food insecurity or medical needs, the assistance provided immediate purchasing power at a time when savings and income had been severely disrupted.
The intervention was particularly important for women-headed households, older persons and other families with limited access to income or social support. By allowing recipients to make their own spending decisions, the project respected household dignity and recognised that affected people are best placed to determine their immediate priorities.
The assistance also reduced the risk that families would be forced to sell remaining assets, accumulate harmful debt, reduce food consumption or leave their communities in search of support.
Locally Led Humanitarian Response
SUAO led field implementation through its local teams, community relationships and operational knowledge.
Its responsibilities included:
- Conducting assessments
- Registering and verifying beneficiaries
- Coordinating with local stakeholders
- Supporting bank-transfer arrangements
- Monitoring receipt of assistance
- Managing community communication
- Operating complaints and feedback mechanisms
- Conducting household follow-up and PDM
- Documenting results and lessons learned
SUAO’s local presence supported access to remote communities and enabled the project to adapt to practical, cultural and protection-related considerations in Kunar Province.
Partnership
The project brought together the complementary strengths of three partners.
Saifrood Unity and Aid Organization provided local leadership, field access, community engagement, assessment, implementation, monitoring and accountability.
Rebuild Aid Forening served as the Danish grant holder and provided donor compliance, grant management, financial oversight and technical support.
DERF, administered by CISU, provided the rapid and flexible financing required to respond within the critical period following the earthquake.
The partnership demonstrates how international emergency funding, diaspora engagement and locally led implementation can combine to deliver timely and accountable humanitarian assistance in difficult-to-access areas.
Sustainability and Institutional Learning
Although designed as a short-term emergency response, the project contributed to longer-term resilience by helping households protect themselves from winter conditions and avoid harmful coping strategies.
It also strengthened SUAO’s organisational systems in:
- Emergency cash assistance
- Beneficiary verification
- Bank-based transfer procedures
- Protection-sensitive programming
- Community accountability
- Data management
- MEAL and Post-Distribution Monitoring
- Coordination in remote disaster-affected locations
- Learning and emergency preparedness
Lessons from the intervention have been incorporated into SUAO’s future humanitarian planning and cash-response methodologies.
Key Lessons Learned
Flexible cash assistance responds to diverse needs
Earthquake-affected households did not all face the same priorities. Unrestricted cash allowed each family to respond according to its own situation.
Formal transfers can strengthen transparency
Bank transfers reduced physical cash-handling risks and created a clearer financial and documentary trail.
Remote locations require strong local access
Effective implementation in mountainous communities depended on local knowledge, community acceptance and consistent field presence.
Women-headed households require deliberate inclusion
Without clear vulnerability criteria and active outreach, highly vulnerable families can be overlooked during emergency registration.
Post-distribution monitoring is essential
PDM provided evidence about the relevance and safety of assistance and helped identify areas for improving future projects.
Accountability must continue after assistance is delivered
Beneficiaries need accessible channels to raise questions and concerns throughout the full project cycle, not only during registration and distribution.
Conclusion
The project “Cash Assistance for Protection and Sheltering of Earthquake-Affected Families in Kunar Province” provided timely and dignified support to 200 highly vulnerable households during a period of severe uncertainty and winter-related risk.
By combining unrestricted cash assistance, transparent beneficiary selection, protection-sensitive implementation, bank-based transfers, MEAL, Post-Distribution Monitoring and community accountability, the intervention addressed immediate survival needs while strengthening the quality of locally led humanitarian response.
Through the partnership between Saifrood Unity and Aid Organization, Rebuild Aid Forening and DERF/CISU, earthquake-affected families gained greater safety, dignity and stability as they began rebuilding their lives.