Courtesy Photo | Pulling security or escaping the mob? Soldiers from the 828th Quartermaster Company...... read more read more
SGT RACHEL BRUNE
101ST SUSTAINMENT BDE
8 NOVEMBER 2005
Toys and candy from Shining Mountain Elementary School in Spanaway, Wash., made their way to Rukuba Gharbi Elementary School in the Qayyarah district, Iraq, courtesy of a civil affairs mission from Q-West Base Complex Nov. 8.
1st Sgt. Steven Winters, 40th Transportation Company, received the donations through the efforts of the school, which his daughters attend.
"My girl Haley, 12, came up with the idea of saying, hey, what can we do to help out over there?" said Winters.
The school raised about $750 to buy soccer balls, and a local Girl Scout troop held a toy drive. The Shining Mountain school hopes to adopt the school and continue with future projects, according to Winters.
Several other Q-West-based units contributed to the civil affairs mission. The 828th Quartermaster Company, recent arrivals in country, and the 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment contributed gun trucks.
Soldiers from the 1225th Corps Support Battalion and 101st Sustainment Brigade volunteered to come and help distribute the supplies.
The civil affairs team at Q-West, from Company A, 401st Civil Affairs Battalion, led by Maj. Andy Ingalsbe, team OIC, also took the opportunity to visit various ongoing projects in the area outside the forward operating base.
On a low hill outside the village of Al Hererra, Iraqi workers applied a wet cement mixture to the walls of what will be a new elementary school for about 20 to 30 students.
The foundation for the school was laid before the war started, according to Staff Sgt. Don Cross, team NCOIC. The coalition recently approved funding for the project to be completed.
At first the whole village pitched in to work on the school, said Cross. About 50 children with wheelbarrows and shovels showed up to help.
"It looks kind of rough now," said Cross as Ingalsbe spoke with the project foreman, Mohammed Salin. "A month from now it will look pretty nice."
The Soldiers of 40th Trans. are no strangers to traveling out on civil affairs missions.
"We've done this on several occasions," said Capt. Carolyn Krepstekies, company commander. The contributions from the school filled a five-ton truck.
The mission also stopped at the town of Safina, where Cross and his team went to visit a water project to pump water from the nearby Tigris River, filter it and distribute it to the town.
As the civil affairs team visited the project, the town's children swarmed the vehicles, practicing their English and receiving some treats off the back of the truck.
2nd Lt. Adam Henning, second platoon leader, 828th QM, expressed interest in continuing to contribute to the civil affairs mission, a sentiment echoed by his Soldiers.
"We're going to keep this going," said Winters, referring to the adoption of the Rukuba Gharbi school.
About 85 students attend the secondary school, and about 720 students attend the elementary school, according to Kamil Naef, principal. The students attend in shifts with the boys coming to school in the morning and the girls attending at night.
Even with the shifts, the school is overcrowded, with some students sitting on the floor to study, said Naef.
As the Soldiers handed out the supplies and treats to the students, Winters asked some of the children to pose for a picture to send back to the Shining Mountain school. He also showed the students a picture of the American students who helped on the project.
"I like for my kids to understand other people," said Winters, describing his feelings on the project. "They can learn an appreciation of Iraq, and why I feel we're actually here."
| Date Taken: | 11.08.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2005 17:51 |
| Story ID: | 3767 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 103 |
| Downloads: | 35 |
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