by Spc Yolanda Moreno Leon
138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

AL KHARAR, Iraq (October 4, 2006) –Every now and then, you come across a Soldier with a desire to do something great, and create a sense of duty. For one Soldier located on Forward Operating Base Marez, Mosul, Iraq, she is doing just that.

For Spc. Jennifer Fitzgerald, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, and native of Albany, N.Y., helping children in Al Kharar, Iraq, was a way for her to leave her mark while deployed in a combat zone, her chance to make a difference and help people she has only met a few times.

Fitzgerald and the 5-20., oversaw a school refurbishment project that will offer the children of Al Kharar a better opportunity to learn and grow.

"We have refurbished a school in Al Kharar, to give their children a better opportunity for education", said Fitzgerald. "A local contractor was hired to perform the work and we ensured that the work was completed to specification."

According to Fitzgerald, the contractor fixed bathrooms, walls and paved sidewalks. The contractor hired local labor to help complete the painting. Once completed, the 403rd CA Bn., furnished the school with stools, desks, and much needed school supplies. A printer and scanner were also purchased.

The school has six regular size class rooms with black boards in each room, enough to support 125 students, and 7 teachers including the head master.

On school grounds the children have a play-ground with slides and swings. "The students enjoy the swings very much," stated Fitzgerald.

The cost of this project is around $49,000. Money to complete the refurbishment came from the Commanders Emergency Response Program, which authorizes commanders to rapidly respond to urgent humanitarian relief, and reconstruction needs in their geographic area of responsibility

"What I have accomplished here is good," said Fitzgerald. "Its my own little mark in Iraq."

This work, A Soldier leaves her mark, by SPC Yolanda Moreno Leon, identified by DVIDS, is free of known copyright restrictions under U.S. copyright law.