Deployed Airmen deliver coats, blankets to Kyrgyzstan school

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
VASILIEVKA, Kyrgyzstan (AFNS) --  Whether it's the annual Bloomsday Run, Fourth of July Celebration or the Lilac Festival, Airmen at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., are no strangers to community outreach in the Spokane, Wash., area. While deployed to the Manas Transit Center, Kyrgyzstan, they brought that same spirit of service and helping others.

To that end, several Airmen deployed from Fairchild AFB delivered hundreds of coats, blankets and toys to 75 Kyrgyz youths Oct. 18.

Building relationships with the local community is one of the core missions of Manas Airmen, said Col. Dwight Sones, the director of the Transit Center.

"We're guests in this country, so it's important we be good neighbors," Colonel Sones said. "One of our goals here is to build partnerships that last for years. And if you're a good neighbor, you take care of people when you can, then they'll take care of you."

The coats and blankets came from people in the Inland Northwest, who donated several hundred pounds of cold weather items for the people of Kyrgyzstan. After unpacking and sorting it all, Airmen traveled to the Solnyshko school near Vasilievka, about an hour from the Transit Center.

The school was unofficially adopted by the 376th Expeditionary Operations Group at Manas in 2005. Airmen have visited the school about every two weeks since then, delivering everything from school supplies to toys and whatever else they could.

"We love it when the Americans come to visit," said Manzura Kushbaeva, the school principal. "It's not just about presents -- they spend time with the students reading and playing outside. It's exactly what the kids need."

Leading the effort was 1st Lt. Jennifer Lemque. This was her fourth trip to the school this year.

"Spending time with the locals goes a long way to showing them we're committed to being friends," she said. "I was speechless when I saw all the coats people had donated from back home. The kids were so excited to get them. It means they'll stay warm be able to play outside when winter comes."

Another member of Fairchild AFB who went along was Airman 1st Class Jessica Wilson, who is no stranger to volunteering her free time. At home she routinely works at an animal rescue shelter and food bank distribution center, but her favorite thing to do is work with children. In fact, she'd just come off a 12-hour shift when she found out about the opportunity to visit the kids at Solnyshko.

"As tired as I was, I knew once I got there I'd find the energy to run around and play with the kids," Airman Wilson said. "Their smiles just bring it out in you. I'm just glad we can help out when we can, and you can tell they really appreciate it when we visit."

With all of the donated items, Airmen at Manas will be able to visit orphanages, villages and other schools as well.

"We've got a lot of coats and things to go around and this will certainly go a long way to improve our relationship with the people here," Lieutenant Lemque said. "The people of Spokane should know that their generosity will make life better for the people of Kyrgyzstan."