a neighbouring shop owner.  “Najaf Mazari has a rug shop in High Street, Prahran (Melbourne), just a few doors from the first ever Brava Lingerie shop opened by myself and my daughter Maxine,” Windram told Inside Retail.  “As a fellow retailer, Najaf has always been supportive of local businesses and we share an appreciation of the importance of working together to find resolutions for all. His warmth, smile and laughter is a delight.” Mazari escaped the Taliban in 2001 and ended up at the Woomera Detention Centre in South Australia. His wife and daughter arrived in Australia five years later. He established AusGhan Aid to support the people of his village close to Mazar-e-Sharif, the fourth-largest city of Afghanistan.  Windram joined the committee to help Mazari support the community he had left behind through fundraising projects from Afghan dinners at St Kilda Town Hall to the Jewells for Schools project and many cinema gatherings. “The most successful fundraiser was Najaf’s wonderful book, The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif, which has been prescribed reading for year 12 VCE students for some years,” she said.  Through funds raised, AusGhan Aid was able to purchase a heavy-duty ambulance for people in need of medical care and provide supplies to students in local schools.  But since the Taliban invasion, AusGhan’s helpers in Mazar-e-Sharif have either fled or are in hiding and there are concerns in Australia for their welfare and whereabouts.  “AusGhan Aid is working to get a large number of displaced people out of Afghanistan. The future for girls and young women is of huge concern,” Windram said.  “Najaf’s daughter is 21 and has been an amazing support to help his efforts to get our people out of Afghanistan. She is working arduously on visas with the Federal Minister for Higgins, Katie Allen.” AusGhan Aid says Afghanistan is “one of the most profoundly unstable countries” in the world and while it cannot help the masses, it can help get some people out.   “Our sources suggest that the future of the education of girls and young women in Afghanistan appears to have gone back two decades,” AusGhan said in a statement.  “Since the Taliban took over we have applied for humanitarian visas for four groups of people, comprising 24 people. This is not a straightforward process. Each visa took about 25 hours.” Call for action  At a loss of how to help, Windram has reached out to her team, customers and now the media, to explain what the charity is trying to achieve. “I have now shared my involvement with the Brava team and have invited the Brava community to consider the horrific plight of a wonderful group of people who have done no harm and who share the basic beliefs of the rule of law, enhancement of economic and social development, elimination of violence against women, raising awareness of women’s and children’s rights, women’s economic self-sufficiency, as well as the protection of the district’s environment,” Windram said.  She has uploaded posts to the brand’s Facebook and Instagram pages to educate customers about the situation and how they can help, but understands that people may be preoccupied with their own issues at this time.  “I didn’t expect a great deal of response, and I don’t think there has been, but it’s just letting people know that there are people outside of our own environment and we don’t know how bad things are for them.”  As a family business, Windram wants to do what she can to help out this family in need.  “This is a family that is very supportive of each other and it’s just a beautiful group of people.  “I just want [Australians] to think about these people; we just don’t know the hell they’ve come through.” To find out how you can support AusGhan Aid, click here.  To read Najaf Mazari’s extraordinary story, click here.