Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo | Department of Defense and coalition members play with local refugee children in Dar Ul...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Staff Sgt. Carlos Diaz
U.S. Central Command Air Forces Public Affairs
KABUL, Afghanistan — On the outskirts of Afghanistan's capital city, a volunteer community relation's trip to a refugee camp was coordinated to distribute clothes and toys.
More than 40 U.S. and coalition armed forces and Department of Defense civilians donated their time and effort to distribute the goods to refugees.
"The main purpose of this outreach program is to help the needy in Afghanistan," said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Herrera, Religious Program Specialist at Camp Eggers.
Two hundred clothes-filled bags were given to approximately 1,000 family members, Petty Officer Herrera said.
Depending on the size and specific donations, VCR trips can be done weekly.
"Every week, we conduct a volunteer community sort to determine what supplies we have," the 31-year-old Sailor said. "We often receive boxes from all over the United States from people who want to help.
"From there, I pull from our volunteer list and then we assemble force protection convoys, distribution and child diversion teams," the petty officer said.
Child diversion teams are created to keep the children's attention during the distribution.
As soon as the convoys arrived, the children ran, shouted and jumped with joy.
The children posed for many of the flashing cameras that filled the scene. Smiles magically appeared as uniformed men and women began to play with them.
A U.S. Marine showed a child a photo while several children mobbed around him and rubbed his close-cropped hair.
"There's just something about seeing a child's smile that has a universal feeling ," said Marine Maj. Brian Rush, Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, Human Resources Division.
The major is new to the area and he quickly volunteered for this opportunity.
"The more you help , the more fulfilled you become," said the major, a father of two children.
To help achieve this fulfillment , U.S. Army Chaplain (Maj.) Larry Shaw, uses this outreach as a lesson to learn about himself.
"It's an opportunity for me to share my love for humanity," Shaw said. "These children have lived in war-torn communities their whole lives and to see that we have something else to offer is gratifying."
Shaw enjoys seeing the hugs and handshakes being shared by many of the children.
That type of affection is like a gift to them, the chaplain said.
The children displayed a gleam of hope as the volunteers played games, provided piggyback rides and gently tossed them in the air.
Several children grasped the adults' hands. Their hands looked like catcher's mitts in comparison to the children's tiny fingers.
During the distribution, a line was formed and bags of clothes were handed to the Afghan adults. The families carried the bags to their homes, run-down buildings riddled with holes and stained with ashes.
The children waved their hands goodbye as the military team departed..
"I think this volunteer effort does a lot for our military members who miss their own children," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Demetrius Walters, CSTC-A, Police Reform Division.
"Helping these children gives our folks a chance to hug and play with other children who desperately need the affection and attention," said the major, who is the father of two toddlers.
The VCR trip concluded and all volunteers congregated for a debriefing session where U.S. Navy Chaplain (Capt.) James Fisher stated that "We have a responsibility to care for people without a voice."
| Date Taken: | 03.22.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 03.22.2007 09:44 |
| Story ID: | 9571 |
| Location: | KABUL, AF |
| Web Views: | 240 |
| Downloads: | 226 |
This work, Joint forces volunteer time to donate goods, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT