Dubai: An Afghan student in Dubai who has always been motivated by the thought of serving his country has taken it upon himself to extend a helping hand to hundreds of people displaced by conflict back home.
Zubair Massoud, 24, a business student at the American University in Dubai, will be heading back to Afghanistan with bigger goals than merely graduating and finding a job.
Massoud was looking at different ways to serve his country until he finally decided to open his own charity organisation in Afghanistan focused on helping war victims and their families.
Massoud says that, amid an escalation of clashes between the Taliban and the Afghan National Army (ANA) in the last few months, thousands of people have been forced to leave their villages and homes to find somewhere safe to stay. Many end up in the capital, Kabul, where they take refuge in camps, with almost all of them lacking basic needs.
“Two months ago, clashes between the Taliban and the ANA reached a peak and thousands of people were forced to leave their homes. They had no food or money, many had to go begging for someone to help them, and this is when I finally decided to open the charity organisation in Kabul called Zubair Massoud Foundation,” he says.
Massoud said being involved in charity work is a priority in his life and a duty that he believes can bring a smile on the face of “each and every poor refugee out there.”
“Being part of this means being very careful and watchful that those people do receive the supplies we are giving out. This is why I head down to the camps at times to personally give people what they need or to see who needs more help,” Massoud said.
He noted that currently there are 2,000-2,500 displaced families in Kabul alone who had come from different provinces where clashes were taking place. On the occasion of Eid Al Adha, Massoud made sure a number of families were assured their basic needs.
“To make sure children had a reason to celebrate for Eid Al Adha, we distributed food supplies that would be enough to get them and their families through the harsh winter. Due to the shortage of supplies, which is currently our main problem, we were able to help only 50 families. We will have to wait for one more month to help the rest,” he said.
Besides helping people living in refugee camps, Massoud has also been assisting schools that were once banned in areas controlled by the Taliban. In August, he helped out a school in Bagrami district to the east of the capital.
“It feels good to give, because the more you give the more you get back. Recently, we gave out school supplies to young students in a school in Bagrami, and my next goal is to build a proper school in that area and help 300 students get a proper education. If the Taliban had continued to have control over this area, most of the students would have fallen for the Taliban extremist teachings,” Massoud said.
After training and studying for three years at the National Defence Academy in India and gaining a military and social science degree, he served one year in the ANA and then began being involved in political work. Massoud was also part of the campaign supporting Ashraf Gani, who is now Afghanistan’s new president.
