Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team
Story by 2nd Lt. Christine Darius
FARAH, Afghanistan - Farah Provincial Gov. Rahool Amin and ISAF forces joined together to celebrate the opening of the refurbished Farah City Orphanage, April 11, in Farah, Afghanistan.
During the celebration, Gov. Amin thanked Task Force South and Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah for helping him make the orphanage a better place for the children that live there. He went on to say that coalition forces have truly made a difference in Farah Province.
Between August and September 2009, PRT Farah took numerous visits to the local orphanage in order to assess the center's needs. The assessments revealed that the children were in need of clothing, recreational equipment and school supplies.
Within weeks, Task Force South established a fundraiser in Italy to raise money for school supplies such as desks, computers, typewriters and recreational equipment.
"We wanted to help the children here and seeing the kids use the equipment we helped provide made this experience even more rewarding," said Italian Col. Massimo Raccampo, the Task Force South commander.
Army Staff Sgt. Jeromy Shoell, Civil Affairs team sergeant for PRT Farah, explained that local vendors and contractors jumped at the opportunity to donate to the children of Farah City Orphanage. They contributed wood to sector off classrooms in the buildings, and bought soccer uniforms, tennis shoes, and more than 200 coats.
"The point of civil affairs is to teach people to help each other," said Shoell. "If I can teach the more fortunate people to help their own, than I've done my job."
The concept of the Farah City Orphanage is to keep children from living on the streets. On average, children between ages 4 and 18 reside in the center, where they are provided food, clothing and education.
"For the younger children, we call the orphanage kindergarten so they don't feel bad," said Jon Mohammad, Manager of Farah City Orphanage.
In special cases, the orphanage is willing to house young men older than age 18 as staff members work with local vocational schools to help the young men acquire skill sets that will enable them to get jobs in the future.
Photos: Orphanage Opens in Farah