The Australian’s Australian of the Year: ‘I have sacrificed my life for the children’

When Kabul fell to the Taliban last year, all Mahboba Rawi could think about were the hundreds of women and children at her orphanage who were in danger - and hatched a daring plan.

Mahboba Rawi at her home in Sydney, where she is raising the 10 young Afghan orphans she helped rescue from Afghanistan as the country fell. Picture: John Feder

When Kabul fell to the Taliban last year, all Mahboba Rawi could think about were the hundreds of women and children at her orphanage who were in danger.

Ms Rawi, who runs Afghanistan-Australian charity Mahboba’s Promise, was despairing. But a daring plan, hatched with her son Nawid Cina and executed with the assistance of the Australian government, saw 17 people, including orphans, staff and their children, escape into Pakistan and on to Australia.

The dramatic exit is believed to be the biggest humanitarian rescue of unaccompanied minors to Australia since the Vietnam War.

Now the dust has settled, Ms Rawi has her hands full with raising 10 children under the age of 15 and continuing her aid work in Afghanistan. It’s a demanding, 24/7 schedule, but she is never too exhausted to give a little more.

“I give up everything (in my life) and don’t even question how I feel about this,” she said. “My life is all about sacrifice. I wanted to make Mahboba’s Promise, and I sacrificed my life for the wellbeing of others. The promise is that I will give my life to each and every one of these children in Afghanistan and now in Australia.”

Ms Rawi escaped Russian occupation in Afghanistan as a teenager and fled to Australia, but has continued to help people in her homeland through the changes of regime by establishing orphanages, schools and other programs to help women and children in need. It is work that has made her a worthy nominee for The Australian’s Australian of the Year.

Her charity was born out of a personal tragedy, the drowning death of her young son almost 30 years ago driving her to do more.

Mahboba’s Promise is now one of the few Western aid organisations still operating on the ground in Afghanistan.

Ms Rawi’s new life in Sydney is alive with the sounds of the youngsters playing, the scramble to feed more than a dozen mouths, and she has seen the children blossom, taking them on holidays and teaching them how to swim. But her thoughts are always with those left behind, who she still hopes to bring to Australia with the correct visas.

“Everyone saw on the TV people trying to get on a plane at the airport (when the Taliban took over),” she said. “I tried to take the children a few times to get them in, but of course they panic – and it’s about 200 of my orphans I want to rescue.”

As thousands of Afghans face a long dark winter with major food shortages under the grip of the Taliban, Ms Rawi’s workload has only increased as she seeks more donations to provide vital supplies. And despite the very real dangers, she has vowed to return as soon as she can to continue her humanitarian efforts.

Readers are encouraged to submit a nomination for The Australian’s Australian of the Year. Prominent Australians can be nominated by filling out the form, or emailing to [e-mail]. Nominations close on Friday, January 21.