Local children clean up playground

Courtesy Photo | A Soldier from of 3rd Platoon, Company A, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division plays with children at a playground in Al Shorta, Iraq. Local children assisted Soldiers with a cleanup project to beautify the park.  

ISKANDARIYAH, IRAQ

03.17.2008

Courtesy Story

4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

By 1st Lt. William Perdue
3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Officer

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Two children run in circles drowning out the barking of a stray dog with their laughter. They race to the slide to see who will get there first.

In this playground, there are no colorful murals, recreation buildings or a gate to keep animals out. This is a park where trash piled up, stray animals roamed, and children, despite the conditions, continued to play.

Soldiers of 3rd Platoon, Company A, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, arrived at the Al Shorta playground. They quickly set up security and began spray-painting the slides with white and blue paint. It didn't take long for a crowd to gather. As children arrived, they helped with the cleanup project by picking up trash, moving rubble away from the playground equipment, and painting.

Platoon members gave gloves to the approximately 15 children who helped out. By the end of the day, the area looked a lot nicer, said 1st Lt. Kevin Brown, 3rd Platoon leader, from Indianapolis.

The unit and the children were able to fix the merry-go-round and the cleanup made the slides look better. Now there is a cleaner, safer place for the children of Al Shorta to play.

"Children love to play," Brown said. "Whenever we can make it a better place for them, we will see success in other forms."

• Date Taken: 03.17.2008
• Date Posted: 03.17.2008 10:46
• Story ID: 17420
• Location: ISKANDARIYAH, IQ