Photo By Tech. Sgt. Quinton Young | One of the children from the Kennedy School practices some of his new moves that he...... read more read more
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Tech. Sgt. Quinton Young
114th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
PARAMARIBO, Suriname – The 71st Flight Training Wing Chaplain (Capt.) Dan Forman, Vance Air Force Base, Okla., gives local children from the Kennedy School new soccer shoes as part of the New Horizons exercise, July 13, 2011.
The Kennedy School is a school for the deaf in Paramaribo. While most students are children, they also offer classes for adults in the evening. The school doubles as an orphanage for some of the students and many of the graduates return to the school after graduation to visit with friends, hang out and play soccer.
When New Horizons Suriname 2011 began, Forman was tasked with scouting out possible outreach opportunities that could be pursued during the New Horizons exercise.
“We stumbled upon this school, and discovered that the kids love to play soccer,” said Forman.
With a common love for the game of soccer, the children and some of the members of the New Horizons Task Force have begun playing games weekly.
“We usually divide up into two teams, the New Horizon folks play on both sides of the game,” said Forman, “our intention is to keep the soccer games going every week on Wednesday until the permanent party members rotate out.”
Several members of the New Horizons team have joined in on the fun. One of the members, Senior Airman Xavier Mendez, a member of the 30th Security Forces Squadron from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., can relate to the children.
“I grew up in Ecuador,” said Mendez, “I know exactly the joy that these kids are feeling right now.”
After seeing the task force members interacting with the children, an anonymous donor provided funds to support the purchase of soccer shoes and socks for the students of the Kennedy school.
“There are so many needs, but sometimes you just need to make a child smile” said Forman.
New Horizons is a cooperative effort between the Government of Suriname and the United States Southern Command that provides training opportunities for the U.S. military and Suriname while helping improve the quality of life for the local population.
| Date Taken: | 07.13.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2011 10:59 |
| Story ID: | 73789 |
| Location: | PARAMARIBO, SR |
| Web Views: | 192 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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