European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday april 1 2007 stars and stripes Page i Winter Good will snowballs into Kabul project b 9 by Megan Mccloskey stars and stripes the Snow had melted in Kabul but at a Remote Village 9000 feet up in the mountains of Afghanistan past where the pavement runs was still very much Winter Navy it Howard Smith recalls of a Day last february the children of Wardak province orphanage were lined up in order of size smiling and wearing their new Winter Coats and shoes they All had been taught a few words of English and they were very eager to show it off saying thank you in unison with great he wrote from Afghanistan in an email to stars and stripes what started out in december As a Sim ple desire to hand out a few pairs of gloves and maybe some shoes to the children out Side the Gate at Camp Phoenix turned into More than 500 boxes of clothes donated from All Over the world Smith who works at us naval Hospital Okinawa and is currently deployed for a 14month tour As a facilities Engineer with task Force Phoenix travels around the Kabul area to assess engineering projects i was always shocked to see both Chil Dren and adults in sub freezing tempera Tures without shoes gloves or hate he wrote the level of poverty Here is simply overwhelming and can Only be truly appreciated by seeing it in person Smith decided he would buy some win Ter clothing to hand out he emailed his wife about his plans and asked her to pack up some stuff from Home it Howard to stars and stripes an afghan National army Soldier helps Load a truck with the boxes of donated clothing to distribute to an orphanage in an isolated part of the country Tuyen Smith a special education teacher at Bob Hope primary school on Kadena air base emailed her friends and family in the states and sent out a school wide email about the clothing project word spread to teachers on Mainland Japan and Europe and soon 2000 pounds Worth of clothing showed up in Afghani Stan the response has been astounding Howard Smith said a second Grade class at Kego elementary school on Yokosuka naval base did a class project on the clothing drive we got massive donations that filled up our second Grade hallway for a couple of months Ike go teacher Alyce Childers said Mayra Seitz a teacher at Giessen Ameri can High school in Germany heard about the project from a teacher on Okinawa whom she used to work with in Panama students at Giessen High school and mid dle school collected 35 Large boxes and shipped them off in january Seitz said Smith said he has had to enlist the help of some of the Seabee with his unit to sort the clothes by gender size and Type and then allot it for various places such Asim Pover shed villages and orphanages i was Lucky to have a Chance meeting with a women organization that has been in place for Over 15 years helping the afghans Smith wrote about those who have assisted with the project i was also fortunate to meet with a local contractor who though by no Means Rich himself dedicated himself to supporting an orphanage in the Kabul area Smiths wife said he was really Down before starting the project doing some thing with such tangible effect on the afghan people has been a big morale boost for both Smith and the other servicemen Bers involved Tuyen said but the effect on his morale Smith said has been twofold certainly it is great to give something to people who have nothing yet it is not until you get involved that you realize just How Large the problem is he wrote in the email Smith said he Doest know what will happen to the Winter clothing project once he returns to Okinawa in May but he feels privileged to have visited the Remote areas of the country meeting the orphans he said is an experience i wont soon forget email Megan Mccloskey at at american military University we educate those who serve Amu offers Mission critical bachelors and masters degrees 100 online in Homeland Security intelligence criminal Justice military studies management and More find out Why Amu is a leading education provider to the military undergraduate Book Grant maximum Transfer of credits monthly class starts the ultimate advantage is an educated mind serving More than 20000 civilian military students regionally and nationally Amu is a member institution of the american Public University system get started on your future today visit email Call 8774686268 press 2 111 w Congress Street Charles town we 25414
