Tents4Peace builds orphanage

Tents4Peace International, a charity launched in 2005 to help sufferers of that year’s devastating earthquake in Pakistan, is set to open an orphanage in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The Tents4Peace project originally raised AUD$150,000 and sent more than 1,000 tents to victims of the 2005 earthquake. In 2006, the group raised another $150,000 to build an orphanage for Afghani refugees. The orphanage can shelter 120 children and was completed in June.

Tents4Peace was founded by Tasmanian lawyer Anna Crotty along with Fazila Tasmim-Hajeb, a language teacher and radio announcer who is an Afghanistan native and has lived in Australia for 22 years. Tasmim-Hajeb took her first trip back to Afghanistan to assess the situation after the earthquake and the war.

“When I went there, I got going to the refugee camps and the situation was shocking,” Tasmim-Hajeb said. “They don’t have a life—many are barefoot in the winter and living in cardboard boxes.”

Tents4Peace’s current endeavor is to raise $10,000 for coal, shelter and heat in advance of next year’s winter. The group hosted a charity concert in April to help raise funds. For more information on making a donation, visit www.tents4peaceinternational.com.