Cavalry Soldiers team up with nonprofit organization to give to Iraqi orphans

Courtesy Photo | Iraqi children from the Dar Alsayda Monastery Orphanage for Boys in Al Qosh, Iraq, line up to receive backpacks full of school supplies from the Ninewah Provincial Reconstruction Team, Oct. 15. The supplies were donated through the efforts of Master Sgt. Kenneth Stone and Maj. Dominic Kusumoto, with 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.  

MOSUL, IRAQ

10.15.2009

Story by Sgt. Christopher Kozloski 

3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE MAREZ, Iraq — On Oct. 15, school supplies were packed up and taken to an orphanage in Al Qosh, Iraq, marking the end of a nine-month-long coordination effort between 3rd "Greywolf" Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division's civil military operations team, the Ninewah Provincial Reconstruction Team and Spirit of America, a non-profit organization that helps U.S. forces serving abroad assist local people in need.

A total of $1,500 worth of back packs, writing utensils, coloring books, glue, scissors and notebooks were delivered to the the Dar Alsayda Monastery Orphanage for Boys, which houses 30 orphaned boys between the ages of six and 16.

In January, 3rd HBCT began coordination to get the school supplies through Spirit of American after discovering a need to furnish basic school supplies to Iraqi children.

"As we visited with the director General of Education, she mentioned that there was a need for supplies throughout Ninewah province," said Master Sgt. Kenneth Stone, the 3rd HBCT Fires and Effects Coordination Cell non-commissioned officer in charge and key coordinator for the school supply distribution. "That got us thinking about how we could best help."

Master Sgt. Stone, a native of Florence, S.C., and Maj. Dominic Kusumoto, 3rd HBCT's civil military operations officer and Fayetteville, N.C. native, began working through Spirit of America to seek donations that could be given to local Iraqi children.

Maj. Kusumoto recommended the nonprofit organization based on previous experiences with their services.

"I used Spirit of America in Afghanistan in 2004 to deliver school supplies to children and then again, in Africa in 2007 for Dira dawa flood relief, where we created a displaced persons camp for those who had lost their homes to the flooding that ensued due to the rainy season," said Maj. Kusumoto, who also helped coordinate the school supply distribution. "Spirit of America supplied the blankets, lanterns and other supplies as well as toys for the kids."

Master Sgt. Stone took Maj. Kusumoto's recommendation and wrote a letter to the nonprofit organization requesting donations and support.

"They took our letter and posted it to their website. This is what gets people interested in donating," said Master Sgt. Stone. "We got a couple hundred school supply kits from [those] donations."

As the school supplies arrived, Master Sgt. Stone and Maj. Kusumoto began planning the distribution and the clear choice was the orphanage, which relies heavily on donations.

"[3rd HBCT] has not really done much with the orphanages in Ninewah province," said Maj. Kusumoto. "We have been primarily focused on the schools in the area. This was a chance for us to give orphans the much needed supplies."

After receiving the supplies in July, six months after the start of this project, one of the challenges became actually delivering them to the children.

Originally, Master Sgt. Stone and Maj. Kusumoto had planned on taking the supplies to the orphanage by way of a battalion that was operating in that area. However, they could no longer do that because the orphanage sits just inside the city of Mosul which created issues because of the decrease in U.S. combat troops in Iraq's cities after June 30 in accordance with the Security Agreement. They were forced to come up with another delivery plan.

"After June 30, our mission changed," said Master Sgt. Stone. "We couldn't go into the area to distribute the school supplies. So rather than go ourselves, we worked through the Ninewah Provincial Reconstruction Team to deliver the supplies."

The PRT was able to deliver the school supplies to the children of the orphanage, successfully completing nine months worth of planning and coordination.

Father Denkha, who runs the orphanage and provides education for the children, lined the children up on Oct. 15, to receive the supplies. Though the wait was long and some obstacles had to be overcome to get the supplies in their hands, they were no less excited to receive the welcome gift.

"By us holding on to the supplies for a little longer to get the timing down and choosing the orphanage to distribute to, I think we made a large impact," said Master Sgt. Stone.

The impact of something like this goes far beyond the orphanage walls, according to Master Sgt. Stone.

"It felt great to see the kids' faces [in the photos]. You feel like you've made a difference; like you've made a positive impact here," said Master Sgt. Stone. "You end up making a friend in the end."

Master Sgt. Stone and Maj. Kusumoto were also thankful for the donations they received from the U.S. and for the support they received from Spirit of America.

"We can't thank them enough," Master Sgt. Stone said, "All the supplies they donated touched the heart of an Iraqi child."

• Date Taken: 10.15.2009
• Date Posted: 11.09.2009 02:11
• Story ID: 41283
• Location: MOSUL, IQ