We have felt helpless watching the news from Afghanistan and hearing pleas for help from our family and friends caught in the crisis. We started this campaign after seeing photos from our dear friend and colleague, Dr Mohammed, distributing blankets from his home to families sleeping in a local park. Now we want to get money directly to colleagues like Dr Mohammed to help those in need. You will have heard the news from Afghanistan - pictures of the Taliban in the Presidential palace, expatriates fleeing via the airport, and heavily armed fighters on the streets. But the real news is the people affected along the way. The UN estimates that over half a million people have been displaced by the war this year. Most are women and children. The families who are most desperate include those who are very poor, who don't have a male adult, who have children with injuries or disability, or who are from minority ethnic groups. Some of these families have nothing more than what they carried on their backs, no proper shelter, no blankets or spare clothes, no food. We have local colleagues who are already helping - distributing blankets, providing food and medicines, organising shelter. And we want to send money directly to support their life-giving work. More about us We are Hamish Graham and Mariam Tokhi, medical doctors based in Melbourne, Australia. We have a long-standing personal and professional connection to Afghanistan. Mariam's father migrated from Afghanistan during the communist era (before she was born) and, like many Afghan-Australian families, returns to spend time with cousins, uncles, and aunts when possible. As doctors and health researchers, we first worked in Afghanistan in 2012, seeking to improve hospital care for mothers, newborns, and children. More recently, we have been working with an Afghan community development group (RHDO) to support children and families living with disability. We will be responsible for getting your funds to RHDO, and other trusted groups in Afghanistan, who are providing urgent relief to children and families. The funds will be used to provide essentials such as food, clothing, blankets, and health care to those in need. All funds we receive will be spent directly on relief efforts (no overheads, no infrastructure costs, no directors fees, none of that). We will be transparent in sharing how much money is disbursed, what it is spent on, and who it benefits, and we will be giving our Afghan partners flexibility to disburse funds according to need. More about our colleagues in Afghanistan We were motivated to launch this campaign after hearing what our colleagues in Afghanistan are already doing to help their brothers and sisters. Dr Mohammed, who leads the local NGO with whom we have been working (RHDO), has been working tirelessly to help those in need using his own cash and giving away things from his own home. Having worked with Dr Mohammed and his team for three years I am constantly humbled by the selflessness and generosity of spirit that they display. While many other NGO leaders have left the country, Dr Mohammed and his colleagues chose to stay and continue helping people. Dr Mohammed and his team work closely with community members and leaders, identifying families in most need, and distributing resources accordingly. They are also part of the NGO coordination group that helps manage aid efforts and coordinate response with UN agencies. While our initial plan is to channel funds to Dr Mohammed and the RHDO team, we know there are other local groups striving to help their community and we will be open to distributing funds more widely depending on needs and capacity. Ultimately, our goal is to get help to affected children and families as directly and efficiently as possible, and we feel very fortunate to have amazing colleagues in Afghanistan who have made this possible. Our promise *We will send every dollar you donate to trusted local Afghan colleagues who are directly providing relief to children and families in need.  *We will be transparent and accountable, providing you with on how much money is sent, and how it is used, in comments below. *You can contact us on Twitter @GrahamHamish @mariamtokhi.