Donations arrive in Iraq, Afghanistan

Donations arrive in Iraq, Afghanistan

by Master Sgt. Adam Johnston
18th Wing Public Affairs

2/5/2004 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFPN) -- Donated goods collected here and nine other bases are beginning to arrive in Iraq. A similar donation program in Afghanistan is expanding to weekly visits, after a year of monthly deliveries.

In January, workers here shipped nearly 500 pounds of school supplies, children's clothes and personal hygiene items to Iraq, said Chaplain (Capt.) Dominic Vitaliano of the 18th Wing. Donations for Afghanistan have also been collected, sent and delivered during the last year from here.

"This is our first time doing this and we might do it again,” Chaplain Vitaliano said. “This is a great way for people to show their help and caring for people in these countries. I think it's a sign of our connectedness for those in harms way and we're supporting them in this way."

With donations from the community, Chaplain Vitaliano said it shows, "we're looking out for the people of that country. We really are trying to improve their lifestyle."

"You can't imagine the number of children (who) do not have shoes and walk barefoot in the winter," said Chaplain (Maj.) Michael Warner, who is deployed from here to Tallil Air Base, Iraq, as the 407th Air Expeditionary Group chaplain.

"I am absolutely overwhelmed by our American generosity," Chaplain Warner said about the supplies that have been donated and arrived so far. "It is heartwarming to experience the outpouring of generosity and kindness flowing from Kadena. We were able to deliver some of the supplies to a local orphanage in Nasiriyah (on Jan. 30). Other incoming supplies will go to local school children at the grand opening of their rebuilt school. Part of the mission here is to rebuild the infrastructure of Iraq, including the schools."

The donations make a direct contribution to the mission in Iraq, Chaplain Warner said.

"By planting (a) seed of good will with the next generation of Iraqis, (these) donations may be the gesture that promotes peace and breaks the cycle of violence among this generation of children," he said.

"The chapel, in conjunction with the fire department at Tallil, funnel all donations to the local Iraqis through the Army's 171st Area Support Group," Chaplain Warner said. "Air Force personnel are not allowed off base. The (soldiers), because of their mission, move freely so they volunteered to help make the deliveries.”

Despite normal rules preventing airmen from leaving the base, Chaplain Warner has been able to go on convoys to oversee some of the deliveries to Iraq.

On those deliveries, Chaplain Warner said it is common to hear a lot of people chanting, "USA, USA" and see people smiling and holding up an index finger as if to say the United States is No. 1. Chaplain Warner said people are overwhelmed with joy, do a lot of hugging and kissing hands and typically cry with tears of appreciation for the donations.

"You would think they received the world," he said. "To date 1,750 pounds of supplies from 10 bases and 17 churches in the (United States) have made direct contributions of clothes and school supplies."

Chaplain Warner said that the Project Good Will program of donations will continue as long as the Army is willing to deliver the items into the outlying areas.

In Afghanistan, a year after an Adopt-a-Village program was started, officials there said the visits are still popular. In fact, the next trip is scheduled for Feb. 7.

"It's looking like the visits are going to increase and they're going to do it weekly instead of monthly," said Tech. Sgt. Brian Davidson, public affairs chief for the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. "We've also added an orphanage that receives supplies."

Sergeant Davidson said the total amount of pounds of donations is not being tracked but that airmen there have made eight deliveries using 1-ton trucks that have been filled to capacity since his arrival there.

Col. D. Lee Hall Jr., 455th EOG commander, recently visited a local village of about 1,500 people south of Bagram.

"In meeting with the village elders, they told me that they were very happy that the Taliban and al-Qaida were gone and that the United States and coalition partners were now finally providing a stable and peaceful place for the first time in more than 20 years," Colonel Hall said.

"I find it very sobering," Sergeant Davidson said about the trips to local villages. He said the trips to hand out donations remind him of the opportunities Americans have and how tough things are for the people of Afghanistan.

"The children are beautiful,” he said. “Some of the adults at times seem a little leery, based on the former Soviet occupation here and there are typically self-appointed Afghan guards with AK-47s which make the trips a little unnerving. But seeing the kids with their thumbs up and saying 'America' and to see them smile makes a real difference."

For those who would like to send donations directly to Project Good Will in Iraq, the address is:

Staff Sgt. Gaylord Winge

Project Good Will

407 AEG/ECEF

APO AE 09358

The address to send items for Afghanistan's Adopt-a-Village program is:

Adopt-a-Village

c/o Master Sgt. Allan J. Kuntz

455 EOG/354 ECS/CCF

APO, AE 09354

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