Shelter Now
| Founded | late 1970s, formally registered as an international aid organization in 1983 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Douglas Layton, Georg Taubmann |
| Type | Christian humanitarian aid, development, and relief organization |
| Focus | housing construction, rebuilding, shelter |
| Location | |
| Origins | Merger of various Christian humanitarian aid societies sharing a goal to do work in Afghanistan |
Area served | Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraqi Kurdistan |
| Method | Assisting war refugees by rebuilding communities |
| Website | www.shelter-now.org |
Shelter Now (also known as Shelter Now International and SNI) is an international Christian humanitarian aid organization based in Germany and with operations focused in Afghanistan. Shelter Now began its work in the late 1970s, but did not formally register as an international aid organization until 1983. From 1988, the organization's activities focused on providing aid to Afghan refugees who were displaced during the Soviet–Afghan War, which lasted from 1979 to 1989. The organization's work included developing factories for producing roof-building materials and rebuilding irrigation systems.
In August 2001—just six weeks before the September 11 attacks—Shelter Now garnered international attention when the Taliban arrested two Americans, two Australians, and four Germans working in Afghanistan for the organization, on charges of proselytism. Some 100 days later, on November 15, the aid workers were freed from Taliban custody by Northern Alliance forces and U.S. Special Forces.