.Metro area students help students in Iraq
KANSAS CITY - It was cold in the unheated warehouse in the old Northeast part of the city, but the middle school students from St. John La Lande School in Blue Springs didn't seem to mind. They were too busy packing school supplies to be shipped to American military installations in Iraq. Soldiers will then deliver the supplies to Iraqi children. The program, Operation Iraqi Children, was co-founded by actor Gary Sinise and author Laura Hillenbrand about five years ago, shortly after Operation Iraqi Freedom concluded.
A Catholic Schools Week drive brought in school supplies by the boxful. Jackie Gale, St. John La Lande eighth grade teacher, said each classroom was assigned a different school supply. Originally the students planned a packing and shipping day on Jan. 31, but the weather got in the way. It was rescheduled for March 19.
Alec Robb, 14, paused while packing notebooks into a plastic bag. "The schools in Iraq don't have much in the way of basic school supplies," he said. "We're sending these over to the Iraqi kids. Me? I would want pencils, most definitely pencils, if I was in school in Iraq. I would also want this war to be over soon."
The war has become more real for the students since five St. John La Lande alumni have been stationed in Iraq and three more are being deployed in the next weeks. Gale said the students and soldiers have been exchanging e-mails and letters, making the war in the Middle East very tangible.
Sixth grader Erica Scassellati's older brother Scott is an active reservist who was home on leave. He was to return to Iraq on March 20.
"I think he'll be OK," she said. "He trains police and escorts important people. He's not in battles. Scott told me the people near where he's stationed need a lot of stuff. I think this project is good, because it gives school supplies to the children."
There are about 1,500 primary and secondary schools in Iraq that are in need of basic school supplies and learning tools. St. John La Lande School joined other local schools, churches and businesses that have worked to help American soldiers help Iraqi school children.
"We try to do a service project each quarter," Jackie Gale said. "This was an important project for us."
Lauren Martin's brother Aaron is in the Air Force, awaiting a transfer from the base in Kuwait to Iraq. The seventh grader, whose class collected crayons, is "excited to do something for the kids in Iraq. They don't get very good educations over there because they don't have good supplies and we do, so I'm glad we can send stuff to them," she said.
Lauren continued, "I think that if the Iraqi children grow up and remember that they received school stuff from American kids, maybe they won't be so tempted to hurt others."
Katelyn Pulse, an employee of the OIC warehouse, roamed from packing table to packing table, then on to where students were taping filled shipping boxes closed and labeling them, then she was on to answer a question somewhere else. She said that in the year she has worked for the OIC program, and while volunteering for it in past years, many letters have been received from soldiers forwarding thanks from Iraqi families and requests for more supplies.
"The soldiers always mention how excited the children get over the school things," she said.
Catholic Key
A Catholic Schools Week drive brought in school supplies by the boxful. Jackie Gale, St. John La Lande eighth grade teacher, said each classroom was assigned a different school supply. Originally the students planned a packing and shipping day on Jan. 31, but the weather got in the way. It was rescheduled for March 19.
Alec Robb, 14, paused while packing notebooks into a plastic bag. "The schools in Iraq don't have much in the way of basic school supplies," he said. "We're sending these over to the Iraqi kids. Me? I would want pencils, most definitely pencils, if I was in school in Iraq. I would also want this war to be over soon."
The war has become more real for the students since five St. John La Lande alumni have been stationed in Iraq and three more are being deployed in the next weeks. Gale said the students and soldiers have been exchanging e-mails and letters, making the war in the Middle East very tangible.
Sixth grader Erica Scassellati's older brother Scott is an active reservist who was home on leave. He was to return to Iraq on March 20.
"I think he'll be OK," she said. "He trains police and escorts important people. He's not in battles. Scott told me the people near where he's stationed need a lot of stuff. I think this project is good, because it gives school supplies to the children."
There are about 1,500 primary and secondary schools in Iraq that are in need of basic school supplies and learning tools. St. John La Lande School joined other local schools, churches and businesses that have worked to help American soldiers help Iraqi school children.
"We try to do a service project each quarter," Jackie Gale said. "This was an important project for us."
Lauren Martin's brother Aaron is in the Air Force, awaiting a transfer from the base in Kuwait to Iraq. The seventh grader, whose class collected crayons, is "excited to do something for the kids in Iraq. They don't get very good educations over there because they don't have good supplies and we do, so I'm glad we can send stuff to them," she said.
Lauren continued, "I think that if the Iraqi children grow up and remember that they received school stuff from American kids, maybe they won't be so tempted to hurt others."
Katelyn Pulse, an employee of the OIC warehouse, roamed from packing table to packing table, then on to where students were taping filled shipping boxes closed and labeling them, then she was on to answer a question somewhere else. She said that in the year she has worked for the OIC program, and while volunteering for it in past years, many letters have been received from soldiers forwarding thanks from Iraqi families and requests for more supplies.
"The soldiers always mention how excited the children get over the school things," she said.
Catholic Key
posted by madtom at 8:49 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home