Five Save the Children staff killed in Afghanistan

Last Friday, news reached us of the death of five of our colleagues in Afghanistan.

The five – Mansoor Ahmad Rahmanzai, 25, Rafiullah Salihzai, 27, Naqibullah Afkar, 29, Mohammad Haroon, 27 and Mohammad Naeem, 24 – had  been abducted by an armed group five weeks ago in southern Uruzgan province.

Despite desperate efforts to negotiate their release, they were killed by their captors.

All but one of them was married and their deaths leave 12 children fatherless.

Brave men doing crucial work

Our colleagues were working to bring clean drinking water to isolated communities in Uruzgan province.

Over the last decade, these kinds of projects have tripled the number of households with access to safe drinking water, improving health, preventing disease and saving children’s lives.

Some of the colleagues are  featured in the inspiring video about their work below:

Doing whatever it takes

This tragedy underscores the incredible courage of our staff who work in some of the toughest, most dangerous places on earth to save lives and bring hope to children.

Whether it’s bringing clean water in Afghanistan, education in Syria or life-saving medical care to Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, they do whatever it takes.

We do all we can do ensure our teams are as safe as possible. Their security is always our number one priority.

But tragically, as this horrific incident shows, sometimes these remarkable humanitarians make the ultimate sacrifice.

If you’d like to leave your condolences for Mansoor, Rafiullah, Naqibullah, Mohammad and Mohammad, please leave a comment below.

My thoughts, and those of the entire Save the Children family are with their families, friends and colleagues.