It's been seven months since the last New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) flight left Kabul airport.
While hundreds of people were evacuated, hundreds were also left behind, and that was unacceptable for two Kiwis who had served in Afghanistan and felt a responsibility to those who'd helped New Zealand.
Lyndsey Meki, a former Defence Force chef, and her close friend Sam Pickford were deployed to Bamyan Province in the early 2000s.
"We went into their homes and shared meals with them and you formed a really tight bond," Meki said.
When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August last year, the pair couldn't look away and organised emergency visas for families to flee on the New Zealand Government's mercy flights.
They began a personal mission to get out as many of those left behind as they could and raised awareness as well as tens of thousands of dollars through Facebook and Givealittle.
"It was just frantic, those first few weeks. They were pretty next level," Meki said.
Many families fled to Afghanistan's hills, which was where Newshub first met Abdul Aziz Samedi while he was hiding from the Taliban. Not long after, the former NZDF employee was taken hostage by the militant group.
"When I was at their prison, all my body was numb, I couldn't speak, I couldn't move my body. It was very scary," he said.
But he was miraculously released after four nights and could continue his journey to New Zealand.
"I feel very relieved, I feel like this is paradise here," Samedi said.
By December, 547 visas had been issued to former NZDF employees and their families but only 60 had made it to New Zealand.
By the end of March, 613 visas had been issued and 476 people had since arrived in Aotearoa.
Meki and Pickford have been part of the journey of at least half of those people in some way, shape, or form.
"There've been a lot of times when we thought this was impossible. Getting them out of Afghanistan felt impossible. So just the fact of perseverance and with the support of many other people who have helped us along the way," Meki said.
After surviving weeks in hiding, a Taliban kidnapping, and freezing temperatures, the families have finally arrived on New Zealand soil.
Meki met Samedi and his family in the Northland town of Whananaki, a community that is opening its homes and hearts to the new arrivals.
For families that have had nothing but each other to hold on to, a place to call their own is truly a weight off their shoulders.
For the young girls in this group, this life in New Zealand also promises them an education - something that would have been impossible under Taliban rule.
"I will do anything to fulfil their dreams, I will try to do anything, maybe even clean the toilet, anything to help my family," Samedi said.
Have a similar story? Email Shannon Redstall in confidence at shannon_redstall@discovery.com
