The Comox Valley Afghan Sponsorship Team (CVAST) came together in summer of 2021 after watching in horror and disbelief as the Taliban seized Kabul and Afghanistan in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal.

Overnight, life changed for Afghans, in particular women and girls and anyone who had worked with foreigners.

CVAST completed paperwork and raised funds to sponsor an Afghan family that local military personnel had worked with. They have recently welcomed four members of the family to the Comox Valley, who are now taking courses and working in the community. Now CVAST is working to bring the four remaining family members to safety. All that is needed is to raise the funds, and for the paperwork to be processed.

Local volunteers are working hard to come up with ways to raise funds, and have some tasty and fun events planned.

The first will be at the Fiesta World Craft Bazaar on Nov. 18 and 19 at the Florence Filberg Centre. The local Afghan family will be on hand with Afghan scarves, crafts, and baking for sale, and an opportunity to have henna artistry on your hand. They will also be at the Comox Light Up on Nov. 24 with warm Afghan soup available for the winter night. Then, on Dec. 16, the Afghan women will do henna hand tattoos at the craft fair at Bodynetix in Courtenay.

Watch the newspaper for announcements of future events, including cooking classes and a pop-up Afghan Feast at Off Main on Jan. 13, 2024. Donations are gratefully accepted at CVASTZarak@gmail.com