Photo By Sgt. Nevada Jack Smith | Lt. Col. Touzopoulos Spyridon, commander of Task Force Hellas, shakes hands with a...... read more read more
CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo - In early March, soldiers assigned to Task Force Hellas, 507th Mechanized Battalion, were greeted by the bright smiles and shining faces of Kosovar children at a school in Mirosale/Mirosalje, Kosovo.
Inside a classroom hazy with smoke from a wood burning stove; the only source of heat, children watched eagerly as the Greece soldiers carried in large packages and began stacking them against a far wall.
The Hellas soldiers were in Mirosale as part of a humanitarian outreach mission to help poor families in that Multi-National Task Force - East sector of Kosovo.
"I have been here with my battalion since December 2008. Since we arrived we have been working hard to further our mission of creating a safe and secure environment," said Lt. Col. Touzopoulos Spyridon, the commander of Task Force Hellas. "We give out some form of humanitarian aid every week. We help with medical and veterinarian aid and we also help out in hospitals."
The Mediterranean soldiers are very active in helping give humanitarian aid to those who need it, and cooperation with local civic leaders is an important part of their mission.
One of our goals is to help the poorer residents, and of course the children, said Spyridon.
Cooperation is an important role in any mission.
"We talk to the village leaders to find out exactly what the people need," said Lt. Anastacio Evangelos, a civil affairs officer. "We also meet with the managers of the schools to get a list of the families who need our help. Then we know how many care packages we need to bring."
"We try our best to aid everybody here, and we have helped about 20 different schools in the three months that we have been here," said Evangelos, "we feel very happy to help the poor families, and we hope that in time they will be able to support themselves."
While the soldiers set up at the school, families came in and receive care packages that were sent from Greece through church and civilian organizations. The care packages were sealed in large identical boxes with the Hellas flag stamped on the side. The intent was to make everyone feel equal and not harbor any jealous feelings that one person may have got more than the other.
"We don't distinguish between Albanian and Serbian we are just here to help the people," said Evangelos, "all the supplies were sent from churches in Greece."
"I feel very good because of all the people I have helped on my mission. I'm glad to see the rich in my country help give humanitarian aid to those less fortunate," said Spyridon.
After the care packages were handed out the team of soldiers were swarmed by happy children as they passed out much needed school supplies to the students. The school supplies were brought separate from the boxes. As the children filed by, Anastacio explained some of the other forms of aid they give to the Kosovo people in the MNTF-(E) sector.
"We have programs to do Dental Civil Assistance Programs, Veterinarian Civil Assistance Programs, and Medical Civil Assistance Programs with the U.S. Forces," said Anastacio.
The children were sad to see the Hellas Soldiers leave, but were happy to have received the gifts the soldiers brought with them.
As they were leaving Spyridon remarked on his overall impression of the Kosovo people, "since the first day I came here, I have felt very comfortable with the citizens and I am happy to help make a secure environment in Kosovo."
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 04.15.2009 10:19 |
| Story ID: | 32410 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 126 |
| Downloads: | 107 |
This work, Be Happy, Greeks Bearing Gifts, by SGT Nevada Jack Smith, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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