Airman makes children smile in Cambodia

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Adam Johnston
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KEP, Cambodia (AFPN) --  Children here have already figured out that if they stop by the hospital here in the afternoon, they are almost sure to be in for some type of treat.

The first day it was coloring books. Then it was lollipops and high-fives. May 23 it was clothes. But while the handouts have been random, there is one thing that has remained consistent: Rita.

Rita smiles, she can color, and when she hands out lollipops, she flavors them with a pretty cool high-five. But Rita is not from here.

Normally she is Master Sgt. Rita Greiner, the noncommissioned officer in charge of orthopedics at the 99th Medical Operations Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. But for a few days, she has been the “adopted mother” of about 200 children here.

Sergeant Greiner is here as part of a 20-person blast resuscitation and victim assistance team. On her way to Cambodia, she carried one extra bag.

“I brought one entire suitcase here filled with items just for the kids,” she said. “I’ve always thought that the most important thing you can do for children is to make every child think they are important.”

Sergeant Greiner’s gifts are not the only ones being handed out here. The thrift store at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, donated about 1,500 toys. A commander’s spouse in Hawaii gathered six bags of children’s clothes and two bags of shoes for the U.S. military medics to distribute here. A couple of doctors from the team also brought along high-value medical reference books for donation. Veterinarian books will also be handed out here because farm animals are typically the most valuable possession a family can own.

“It’s a very simple and easy thing to do,” said Lt. Col. Diep Duong, team leader. “This means so much for the people who receive [the donations] on this end.”

But it also seems to mean a lot for Sergeant Greiner.

“I can’t have children,” she said. “So, it makes the contact with the kids so much more special. I’d love to take them all home with me.”

But she knows she cannot and seems to cherish every moment with the children.

“My favorite is the baby who cries every time she sees me,” she said. “I love her, and I’m going to make her smile yet.”