BY SIMONE KEALY

A fundraiser organised by Monash University students to support 900,000 displaced families in Afghanistan has raised more than $30,000.

The fundraiser Camp 4 Afghanistan, held last weekend, has partnered with charity Mahboba’s Promise to help families on the ground in Afghanistan.

Mahboba’s Promise provides these Afghan families with essentials such as survival kits, food, and other necessities.

As part of the event, participants camped in their backyard, living room or balcony to stand in solidarity with those living in Afghanistan.

Head organiser and Monash University student Elif Eren Ozenir said the fundraiser went “amazingly”.

“It warms my heart to see just how many people in our community jumped on board the initiative,” Ms Ozenir said.

“$30,000 will go a long way to helping many families survive.”

Ms Ozenir said she was prompted to start the event on the day when Victoria’s lockdown was extended and Kabul was taken by the Taliban.

“[I was] getting really, really upset about it all, but also feeling quite helpless,” she said.

“[The fundraiser gave] everyone in lockdown something that they can band together and do and restore a bit of a sense of purpose in everyone that’s feeling helpless.”

Camp 4 Afghanistan also aims to raise awareness of the country and its history by sharing petitions and other information on its social platforms.

“We think it’s really important to run an education campaign,” she said.

“[We’re also] trying to gather some stories from people in the Afghan community here in Melbourne to share their story and we can post about that, just to give the Afghan community a voice.”

Isaac Leadbeatter said participating in Camp 4 Afghanistan raised his awareness of Afghanistan’s predicament, including the two decades of war the country has now experienced.

“Seeing all of that was really heartbreaking,” Mr Leadbeatter said.

“To just raise a little bit of money, as much as we can, [and] to raise awareness about the thousands of displaced Afghan citizens, is the least we could do.”

Mr Leadbeatter said by participating in the initiative, he felt empowered.

“I felt very sad that the government isn’t really doing as much as we could be doing,” he said.

“So, having an initiative like this… really made me feel like we can do things to help.”

Due to the success of Camp 4 Afghanistan, another fundraiser will be held on September 10 partnering with several schools across Sydney.