USAFE Airmen collect gifts for Afghan children

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jonathan Friedman
  • U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) --  Thousands of miles from the day-to-day bustle of holiday shopping and military missions, school children and orphans are receiving school supplies, toys and clothing -- from people they've never met.

The children live in Afghanistan and they've been receiving these much-needed items through the generosity of men and women stationed here.

This is where Maj. DuWayne Bredvik, the policy and doctrine chief for the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Plans and Programs Directorate, has stepped up to collect donations and mail the donations.

"My boss was deployed to Afghanistan, and he mentioned every Friday the security cooperation office ‘down range’ tries to deliver donations to local orphanages and a school," Major Bredvik said. "So, I thought the very least I could do was to collect donations here and get them to those who need them most."

Major Bredvik said the collections have been a consolidated effort throughout his directorate. So far, his office has shipped nearly 250 pounds of gifts to his deployed co-workers in Afghanistan.

Once shipped, it takes another huge effort in Afghanistan to ensure the packages get to their proper recipients. This is where Lt. Col. Steve Lipscomb, strategic concepts and transformation branch chief for the command Plans and Programs Directorate, steps in.

Colonel Lipscomb, who is deployed to Afghanistan, gathers packages and separates the school supplies from the toys and clothing. The team typically sends the supplies to the school, and all other donations go to nearby orphanages.

"I think the people we need to focus on most are the children," the colonel said. "Many of the kids in the orphanages have very little support outside of the government, so bringing clothing and toys means more than just the physical item -- it brings them hope and joy."

It's a new practice in Afghanistan to allow both genders to receive education. The colonel said it takes a lot of guts to teach in that type of environment, as many teachers are not treated well because they teach both boys and girls.

"We've seen huge leaps in progress at the schools where boys and girls are both able to attend," he said. "But, it's more than just the school -- this shows the enormous jump in progression within the Afghan society. So, I think it's important that we support this type of advancement wherever we can."

As Major Bredvik and Colonel Lipscomb continue their day-to-day missions, it's apparent there's a connection between their mission success and the children.

"This is clearly another example of the coalition's success within this region -- and that's what we're here for," the colonel said. "We're here to ensure that people can go back to school, back to their daily lives and thrive as a society.

“In doing so, we're one step closer to defeating terrorism," he said.

(Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service)