FOL Manta helps give away 6,500 backpacks

  • Published
  • By Capt. Ashley Norris
  • 478th Expeditionary Operations Squadron Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING LOCATION MANTA, Ecuador (AFPN) --  Members of Forward Operating Location Manta helped give away 6,500 backpacks that were purchased recently by U.S. Embassy officials in Quito, Ecuador, for underprivileged children. 

Embassy officials selected 23 schools with underprivileged children in Manabí province in areas affected by flooding: Portoviejo, Chone and Manta. Each student received a backpack embroidered with the phrase "Sin drogas vives mejor" meaning "Without drugs you live better," and inside each backpack was a water bottle, paper, pencils and for children in grades 3-6, a Spanish-English dictionary. 

Tech. Sgt. Alf Thompson, a quality assurance evaluator, went to the Escuela Cuenca school near the town of Portoviejo and said that there has been an influx of children at the school because families living in outlying areas have had their homes destroyed and have moved to the city to live with their extended family. 

This year, people in Ecuador saw some of the worst flooding in two decades; Manabí province was one of the worst hit. Some of the schools were turned into shelters for families who lost their homes to the floods and landslides. The beginning of the school year was delayed by a month so that the schools could clean and make repairs. 

The entire backpack distribution event was carefully orchestrated by members of the U.S. Embassy.  For example, the backpacks were purchased in Ecuador so that the money being spent would go back into the local economy. Staff Sg. Elton Gill, a chaplain assistant here, attended all four days of backpack distribution and said that it went without a hitch. 

"It was very well organized," said Sergeant Gill.  "The kids were well behaved and the staff at all the schools were very hospitable. 

"You could just see the smile on the kids faces as they were getting them, almost like it was Christmastime for them or a birthday," he said. "I was just glad to be a part of that. I'd be willing to do it again in a heartbeat." 

Sergeant Thompson said it was rewarding to experience the excitement.

"It was like you're going to a sporting event because all the kids are cheering for you and you're the heroes of the day. Everyone has their hands in the air, they're clapping; it was a good experience," he said. 

Senior Master Sgt. Greg Moore, the 478th Expeditionary Operations Squadron first sergeant, said, "We're constantly working with the Embassy to help people in need in Manabí province. This was particularly wonderful because we were able to put smiles on 6,500 children's faces and prepare them for the new school year." 

Sergeant Moore said he hopes the FOL would be able to continue to do projects like this in the future but the operating agreement with Ecuador is set to expire in November 2009 and currently isn't expected to be renewed. 

FOL Manta is strategically located in Manta, Ecuador, in support of Joint Interagency Task Force South's efforts in the Eastern Pacific Ocean to stop transnational narcotics movement. As a result of missions launched from the FOL Manta, already in 2008, 59 metric tons of cocaine valued at more than $1.17 billion have been seized. 

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