Iraqi children awaiting first day of school

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mark Getsy
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK, Iraq (AFPN) --  Schools here are still a week away from opening, but smiling children are already climbing the gates, eagerly waiting for the first day of class.

Why? Because Air Force and Army volunteers have extended a helping hand so these children can further their education in modernized facilities.

Members of the Air Force’s 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron at Kirkuk Air Base and the Army’s Battle Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne, have teamed up to renovate two schools in the local area.

The first school, a model for the rest of the Kirkuk schools, is scheduled to open for class Oct. 1.

“We adopted the schools because they were close to our safe houses,” said 1st Sgt. Richard Weik, the Army project officer. “The first thing we did was go around and assess the electrical and plumbing situation. It was a mess.”

The Army called in Air Force electricians to help get the school ready for business.

Tech. Sgt. Jack Vollriede, an electrician for the 506th ECES, said Air Force electricians were already in the area working on Army safe houses when they heard about the project.

“The Army asked us if we would check out the electrical work being done at the school,” said Vollriede. “I saw the work needing (to be) done was similar to what I do in my civilian job back home so I asked others in my shop to volunteer and help out with the project.”

Since mid-September, more than 10 electricians have been working daily to get the schools up and running. Vollriede said it is hard at times to find the right parts, but the team has managed to accomplish a great deal in a short period of time.

“We have completed five electrical service panel replacements, installed emergency lighting, fixed all the interior lighting and even fixed the school bell,” he said. “We are now working on installing grounded outlets for computers in all the classrooms and offices.”

Sgt. 1st Class Edwin Gorgas, project officer for the second school, said the renovations are only in the beginning stages, but they are a great improvement from what they initially saw.

“When we got here, the doors were ripped out, only two lights worked and the bathrooms were disgusting, to put it nicely,” Gorgas said. “We’re hoping to have all the doors replaced, the plumbing fixed and all the lights working before school starts. Then our goal is to build a courtyard, cafeteria, teachers’ lounge and a library.”

Vollriede said that help for the schools extends all the way back to the United States. Children back home are writing letters to wish the Iraqi children good luck, and many vendors and organizations are sending school supplies, he said.

“(There are) already eight schools in Illinois donating items and the number is growing,” said Vollriede.

An American veterans group is sending care packages and U.S. businesses are sending supplies, said Vollriede.

Weik said working in the schools and helping out the children is a good stress reliever.

“(There are) times we’re in a firefight or something earlier in the day,” he said. “It always feels good to come here afterward and be able to do something for the children.”

The rest of the volunteers agree that no matter how much work goes into it, the project is definitely worthwhile.

“It’s great doing this for the kids,” said Vollriede. “Looking at the big picture, we are shaping the future of an entire community.”

Tech. Sgt. Patrick Grisez, another volunteer electrician, said he would not have passed up the opportunity for anything.

“This is what makes coming here (Iraq) worthwhile,” he said. “We’re hoping we get the chance to do more things like this to help them out.”