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They came slowly in the beginning, one at a time. The first children were hesitant, peering curiously into the box that was almost as tall as they were. Eventually, the realization of goodwill gave way to enthusiasm, and waves of Afghan children eagerly made their way to the box as Afghan national army soldiers passed out its contents as quickly as they could. In the box were 200 pairs of shoes that are now on the feet of Afghan children.
The contents of the box were a product of Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Tompkins of Frisco, Texas, initiative and hometown America's charity. Tomkins, a provost marshal mentor to the ANA's 203rd Thunder Corps on Forward Operating Base Thunder, looked on with a huge smile across his face. He accompanied the ANA on their civil assistance mission, Jan. 20, in the Bagashah village near the town of Gardez in Paktya province.
Tompkins orchestrated the donation of the shoes from residents of Frisco and in Parma, Ohio, where he also has relatives. Tompkins saw his goal as a way of giving the people back home an opportunity to give Afghans a better life.
"The American people want to make a difference," Tompkins said. "This is one way they can. I'm just here, just allowing this to happen for them. I'm sure if they could be here doing it themselves they would."
The genesis of Tompkins' personal mission came when he was at Camp Phoenix, Kabul. He saw children running around in torn and tattered shoes, or no shoes at all. He saw ANA Soldiers handing out shoes to those children and decided to help out.
Tompkins enlisted the assistance of Girl Scout troop #7171 in Parma, as well as family members and corporate sponsors in and around Frisco. The response was overwhelming. Tompkins said he expected 50 to 60 pairs and received four times that many.
Abdul Sitar, a teacher in Gardez who was at the village during the civil assistance mission, was exuberant in his appreciation. He said that many children and many households will benefit from the shoes.
"It feels good to create a partnership with the Afghan and American people. I think it went very well as far as the Afghan people getting what they needed," said Tompkins. "This wasn't about me giving the shoes to them. This was about the Afghans getting something they need. It's just a bonus for me."
| Date Taken: | 01.27.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 01.27.2010 05:44 |
| Story ID: | 44483 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 306 |
| Downloads: | 287 |
This work, Soldier lends a helping hand to the feet of local residents, by SGT Andrew Reagan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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