A local man removes debris after earthquakes shook Afghanistan in 2023.

Omid Haqjoo/AP Images

STANDARDS

NCSS: Culture • People, Places, and Environments • Individual Development and Identity • Individuals, Groups, and Institutions • Power, Authority, and Governance • Production, Distribution, and Consumption • Global Connections • Civic Ideals and Practices

Common Core: RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.3, RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.5, RH.6-8.6, RH.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.2, WHST.6-8.4, WHST.6-8.9, RI.6-8.1, RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.3, RI.6-8.4, RI.6-8.5, RI.6-8.6, RI.6-8.7, RI.6-8.9, W.6-8.2, W.6-8.4, W.6-8.9

COOL SOCIAL STUDIES CAREER

Delivering Hope

Humanitarian aid worker Dayne Curry works with people in crisis to help them build a better future.

April 2025

By Mary Kate Frank

via Mercy Corps

Dayne Curry

In October 2023, a series of powerful earthquakes struck northwestern Afghanistan. The ground shook violently. Entire villages crumbled. Families ran from their homes with nothing but the clothes they wore.

Roughly 1,300 people died. About 110,000 others were left in urgent need of help. Dayne Curry worked to make sure they got it.

Curry is an American humanitarian aid worker overseeing relief programs in Afghanistan. Humanitarian aid workers respond to crises such as natural disasters and wars. They save lives by providing clean water, food, shelter, and other essentials.

Based in Kabul, the nation’s capital, Curry has worked and lived in Afghanistan for 15 years. He is the Afghanistan country director for Mercy Corps, a global nonprofit. His role goes beyond emergency aid. Curry also partners with Afghans to tackle long-term challenges. And there are many such challenges.

Mercy Corps

A girl fills a jug with water. Some Afghans have to walk hours to access water.

The country has endured decades of poverty, conflict, and political upheaval. An extremist group called the Taliban controlled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001. During that time, the Taliban sheltered Al Qaeda, the terrorist group behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The 9/11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people. Soon after, the U.S. and its allies went to war in Afghanistan. They ousted the Taliban from power. As U.S. troops withdrew in 2021, the Taliban retook control.

Under the Taliban’s renewed leadership, millions of Afghans live in poverty and unemployment is rising. Plus, Taliban officials have severely limited the rights and education of women and girls.

In addition, partly because of drought, Afghanistan struggles to produce enough food to feed its 42 million people (see “Afghanistan’s Hunger Crisis” sidebar, below). And nearly 11 million Afghans are displaced within Afghanistan or in nearby countries, the United Nations says.

Still, Curry says, Afghans remain hopeful—and so does he. “There’s no day you wake up here that you don’t see real pain and suffering,” he says. “But Afghans are so resilient. That’s what motivates me to keep going.”

Here, Curry shares how he got involved and why his work matters.

What drew you to humanitarian work?

When I was 15, I took speech and debate classes. One of the topics I researched was Afghanistan. A couple of years later, 9/11 happened. The world’s attention began shifting to Afghanistan. I realized, I’ve studied this country and now this current event is happening there.

At the time, I was thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. My parents taught me that a career is not just about trying to make money or doing a job. It’s about doing something positive. Humanitarian aid work just felt right.

Afghanistan’s Hunger Crisis

Here’s a look at the severe food shortage—and one solution underway.

THE PROBLEM

• 14.8 million Afghans endure food insecurity
• 3.5 million children are malnourished

^{Source: World Food Programme}

THE CAUSES

• Conflict: Decades of war have destroyed farmland, farm machinery, and roads that connect farms to markets. This has damaged farmers’ ability to grow and distribute food.

• Economic Collapse: When the Taliban took back control in 2021, many nations reduced or ended the aid they had been giving to Afghanistan. That has led to high unemployment. Many people can’t afford to buy food.

• Climate Change: Persistent drought is hurting food production. The effects of climate change—irregular rainfall, rising temperatures, and melting glaciers in the Hindu Kush mountains—are expected to worsen drought conditions over time.

ONE SOLUTION

Mercy Corps is helping to provide seeds that are designed to withstand drought and produce higher crop yields. Over the next two years, 10,000 people with small farms in Afghanistan are expected to receive the seeds, along with training on how to adapt their growing techniques for the changing climate.

When did you first visit Afghanistan?

My first trip was in 2004. I knew people who were starting an international school in Kabul. So I came over to help with that during a summer break from college.

The People of Afghanistan

Watch a video about Afghanistan, including key events and background on the current humanitarian crisis.

Was any part of you scared?

I was terrified. I remember flying into Afghanistan for the first time. From the airplane window, I could see remnants of aircraft that had been blown up. And there were marked areas where they hadn’t cleared land mines. I thought: What am I getting myself into? But that nervousness quickly melted away when I encountered the kindness of the Afghan people. There was a spirit of hope, and it was very infectious.

How are you currently helping people?

We are helping returning refugees—people who fled Afghanistan at some point. Many are now being forced to return. In the past year alone, Pakistan and Iran have expelled nearly a million Afghan people back into Afghanistan. Some of the people have been refugees in those countries for decades. When those Afghans come back, they often have very little. So we’re providing water and food to them, as well as supplies to meet basic needs.

In addition, there are millions of Afghans who stayed in the country but have had to leave their villages. Sometimes it’s because they can’t find a job. Other times they don’t have enough water. For instance, I have talked to people in Herat province whose water has dried up. They’re walking hours one way to access water for drinking, cooking, and bathing. The responsibility for collecting water a lot of times falls to kids. They can’t go to school. They can’t have a normal life as a kid because they have to help their family survive.

By the Numbers

Mercy Corps in Afghanistan

500,000: People helped in 2023 and 2024

150: Team members on the ground

39: Years active in the country

How do your projects help Afghans in the long term?

We are trying to help rebuild Afghanistan’s economy and communities. So one of our focuses is working with farmers. In Kandahar province, there’s a village of about 400 households. It was on the front lines of fighting. The village’s water systems were destroyed. The people were displaced. Recently, we’ve been able to start replacing their irrigation systems. Some families are beginning to come back and do basic farming. But there’s a lot more to do, like helping farmers understand how to plant crops in a drought-resistant way.

Under the Taliban, girls and women are barred from education beyond sixth grade, as well as many job opportunities. Are you able to help them?

Our projects support women who want to do farming and start small businesses. We provide them with start-up money and give them access to markets where they can sell local products. [Despite many restrictions, women are able to grow and sell food as a business, especially if they are the head of their household and have no other income to provide for their children.] Supporting women so they can earn their own incomes is critical to breaking the cycle of poverty and instability.

“We always say ‘Don’t forget Afghanistan.’ I don’t want the world to move on to the next crisis when there’s still a huge need here.”

We had a program to help women with vegetable production in a heavily drought-affected community. After the training, I visited the home of a woman who had participated. She had a small plot of land and was producing vegetables. Her husband was blind. He had sustained some injuries and was unable to work. He took my hands and said, “If my wife couldn’t grow food, my children would have to go out and beg.” To know that the assistance means something to the families who get it is extremely rewarding.

What is one challenge of your work?

There are so many competing global priorities. We always say, “Don’t forget Afghanistan.” I don’t want the world to move on to the next crisis when there’s still a huge need here.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Going into a community and hearing people’s stories. I’ve invested a lot of time in learning to speak Dari [an official language of Afghanistan, along with Pashto] so that I can connect with people. That’s the greatest part.

What skills or qualities make you good at this?

Having good communication skills—not just with the people we help but with my team—is a big part of it. Also, I think learning resilience has made it possible for me to be effective and do the work that I do.

What advice do you have for kids or teens interested in humanitarian aid?

Learn about your world. One of the best ways to do that is to spend time with people from different cultural backgrounds. If there’s a refugee or a kid in your school who has just arrived from another country and their English is not good, volunteer to talk with them or tutor them. Traveling is great, but there are different cultures right in your own backyard.