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Shindand Schools Receive Educational Supplies

  • Published
  • By MC3 Jared Walker
  • 438th AEW PA
SHINDAND, Afghanistan --  Regardless of the country you may live in, making sure children can properly learn and have the right materials for school is important. In Afghanistan, a country that has seen many years of war, the national educational system has suffered. In many cases, donations can make all the difference.

On Oct. 5, 2010, members of the Afghan National Army, Afghan Air Force and NATO Air Training Command - Afghanistan stationed at Shindand Air Base distributed school supplies to the local boys and girls schools.

"This mission was started by the previous commander of the 207th corps of the Afghan National Army, Maj. Gen. Jalandar Shah Behram, but his successor, Maj.Gen. Shahzada, implemented this project, because he saw the importance of education for Afghans youth," said Lt. Col. Thomas N. Tran, the Deputy Group Commander at Shindand Air Base. "Maj. Gen. Shahzada said that it is better to see pens in the hands of Afghan children rather than AK-47s."

Tran organized the event while running back and forth meeting the provisional Ministry of Education and the district Ministry of Education to make sure the right schools were being helped.

"I would like to thank Capt. Stacy Monaghan and her team in Kabul, who were key in getting these supplies here to Shindand. I also want to thank Capt. Kaitlin Kenny, Capt. Simeamativa Kruse and Staff Sgt. Jessica Senteno. All three were vital in organizing the many volunteers and supplies that were handed to the children," said Tran.

The volunteers for the mission, both U.S. Air Force and Army, meet up at 6:30 a.m. for roll call and the mission brief. They arrived at the girls school at around 8:00 a.m. and distributing the school supplies to the girls soon after.

"With the help of the Afghan National Army and NATC-A advisors, we passed out 3,500 backpacks with school supplies inside to both the girls and boys schools," said Capt. Kaitlin W. Kenny, Communications Officer at Shindand Air Base. "This is an important thing to do regardless of the country. This helps us win the minds and hearts of the local population and this is a really positive event for the females."

This was also the first time that members of the ANA, AAF and Afghan Commandos worked together at Shindand. The head master for the girl's schools said that this was the first time since the Russians left, more than 30 years ago, that the Afghan military has supported the village.

"Today's mission in Shindand was important in three ways. First, it's a future training base for Afghan pilots. Second, the Afghan Army trains their non-commissioned officers here and this is the future site for the Afghan Army's regional training center. The base continues to grow with the added presence of the ANA, AAF and Coalition Forces. As this base continues to grow, so will the villages around it. In addition, this is an event that the three growing Afghan and Coalition units at Shindand can work together towards. Lastly and most importantly, this helps the children surrounding Shindand to continue their education...they are the future of Afghanistan," said Tran.

With education available to both male and female children of Afghanistan, they now have the opportunity to become productive citizens such as doctors, reporters or even future military members in their armed forces. The children need education and the proper materials to help them learn. With education anything is possible for the children of Afghanistan.