While there are many interpretations of what led to the crisis and ascendance of the Taliban, one thing is clear, millions of lives are at stake. Curently, there are approximately 3.5 million internally displaced Afghans and an additional 2.2 million refugees and asylum seekers in neighbouring nations. The urgent need is to evacuate thousands of Afghans who supported Canada and its Allies; the countless professors, lawyers, teachers, and health care workers who have laboured to promote basic human rights and social justice must be helped.

Ultimately, we need to act quickly to avert a massive humanitarian crises and the execution of thousands of Afghan people.

Lifeline Afghanistan will:

• Build awareness and engagement of civil society in the sponsorship of Afghan refugees
• Curate resources and connect to organizations supporting Afghan refugees through humanitarian relief, advocacy, settlement, service provision, research and others
• Work with Sponsorship Agreement Holders and others to engage Canadians in private sponsorship and to provide practical support to facilitate the process
• Support skills assessment and trauma informed approaches to skills development
• Work with employers and service providers to create pathways to economic and social inclusion
• Promote evidence based, innovative and collaborative approaches to supporting refugees

Lifeline Afghanistan has been structured by the experiences and lessons learned during the Syrian crisis. The Ryerson University Lifeline Syria Challenge in collaboration with the  University of Toronto, OCADU, and York University mobilized more than 1,000 volunteers and raised over $5 million to resettle hundreds of refugees across the country.  Lifeline Afghanistan is an initiative of the Diversity Institute in the Ted Rogers School of Management.