Shoes, goats and ropes
Greetings friends and supporters! You're probably wondering...goats and ropes?! Read all about it below.
LTC Max Velte Helping Farm Families in Kunar Province, Afghanistan
The California National Guard's 40th Infantry Division Agribusiness Development Team working in Kunar Province supports the needs of farmers and their families through a series of regularly scheduled veterinary clinics (VETCAPs). According to LTC Velte, they are out in the local villages providing large scale veterinary treatment (usually +500 animals per day) and building check dams, gabions (i.e., watershed projects), and introducing modern farming technology and processes where requested and where feasible.
LTC Velte asks for help in 2 areas, shoes and lead ropes for the animals. He emails:
"The one thing that hurts my heart more than any other is the poor condition of the children's shoes. Sometimes they are barefoot, sometimes their shoes are in shreds, or sometimes (in one case in particular), a little girl brought to me her family cow for treatment (i.e., multiple vaccinations, parasite treatment, and vitamins) ... the poor little girl was wearing a mans shoe ... probably a size 10 or so ... and her tiny little feet were sliding in and around as she was desperately trying to control this +500 lb milk cow. The girl, an Afghani girl, was about 8 years old and tiny." He adds "These are difficult instances to cope with. If there were shoe stores out here we soldiers would buy some out of pocket. Thank you for your support."
LTC Velte sent the picture below. This little girl has no shoes at all. By the amount of tattered clothes she has on, it must be cold.
Posted on Feb 24, 2010 10:40:56 PM by Natasha Norman.
LTC Max Velte Helping Farm Families in Kunar Province, Afghanistan
The California National Guard's 40th Infantry Division Agribusiness Development Team working in Kunar Province supports the needs of farmers and their families through a series of regularly scheduled veterinary clinics (VETCAPs). According to LTC Velte, they are out in the local villages providing large scale veterinary treatment (usually +500 animals per day) and building check dams, gabions (i.e., watershed projects), and introducing modern farming technology and processes where requested and where feasible.
LTC Velte asks for help in 2 areas, shoes and lead ropes for the animals. He emails:
"The one thing that hurts my heart more than any other is the poor condition of the children's shoes. Sometimes they are barefoot, sometimes their shoes are in shreds, or sometimes (in one case in particular), a little girl brought to me her family cow for treatment (i.e., multiple vaccinations, parasite treatment, and vitamins) ... the poor little girl was wearing a mans shoe ... probably a size 10 or so ... and her tiny little feet were sliding in and around as she was desperately trying to control this +500 lb milk cow. The girl, an Afghani girl, was about 8 years old and tiny." He adds "These are difficult instances to cope with. If there were shoe stores out here we soldiers would buy some out of pocket. Thank you for your support."
LTC Velte sent the picture below. This little girl has no shoes at all. By the amount of tattered clothes she has on, it must be cold.
LTC Max Velte's second request is for rope to lead animals.
He writes: "The new lead ropes we provide are not always used due to language problems. We explained to the little boy (see photo above) that he could walk the goat instead of carrying it (he walked all the way to the VETCAP with the goat in his hands) ... so we put a new lead rope on it for him, but he chose to still carry it! He was sure to get his complimentary bag of candy first! Thought you might like this one." Thanks again for your support."
LTC K. MAX VELTE
Your support of ADT Deputy Commander LTC Velte's project goes towards purchasing the desperately needed children's shoes and lead ropes. Please click here to help LTC Velte.
Chaplain Koeman continues his mission in Afghanistan
Spirit of America has been working to put your donations to good use and was able to send blankets, jackets, and shoes for children to Chaplain Scott Koeman in Afghanistan. Chaplain Koeman was very grateful and writes:
"I wish you could have been there with us. It is such a blessing to be a blessing--especially when you get to see the beautiful children face to face. It's amazing. The joy that comes from giving to little children who have virtually nothing is simply indescribable. You just don't want to stop with shoes, coats, and blankets. You want to do more--and for that very reason it is good if we can bring an end to the brokenness in this land. Then perhaps they can move forward and not have to live so far behind the rest of the world."
Chaplain Koeman sent us the picture above; it speaks volumes. He has 4 months left on his deployment. A lot can be done in that time. For a donation of $100, Spirit of America can buy 10 pairs of all weather shoes. That's 10 children who will not be barefoot in the cold (and hot) weather. Click here to help Chaplain Scott Koeman.
UPDATES on your contributions at work:
Afghan Fund Buys Winter Supplies - At the request of Captain Bill Spurlock stationed at Camp Alamo, Afghanistan, we used your contributions to SoA's Afghanistan Project Fund ($$) to quickly send 500 fleece coats, 500 knit caps and 500 pairs of gloves. Captain Spurlock sent this message upon receiving news of the purchase of the winter supplies and he promises pictures soon.
"This is great news I appreciate all that you all are doing to help to Counterinsurgency fight and this does just that. The bullet not fired is more important than the one that is and through our operations and with your help we believe we can win the full support of the Afghan people subsequently taking from the insurgent forces and we can only do it with support like that you are providing. My sincerest appreciation again for your efforts "in the fight".
William E. Spurlock, CPT, FA
Soccer Balls a Hit in Kyrgyzstan- Donations to Spirit of America's Unrestricted Fund supported the purchase of 100 soccer balls and 100 beanies at the request of United States Air Force Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt) Lyn Harshman in Kyrgyzstan which is home to a strategic air base. SMSgt Harshman sent this message: "Thank you so much for your support. Attached are pictures of the children receiving the soccer balls you sent. You have made many Kyrgyz children very happy and changed their impression of Americans. We appreciate you." She is pictured below with one of those happy campers.
Wheelchairs delivered by MAJ Ruthman - MAJ Eric Ruthman expresses his thanks for the 10 wheelchairs we were able to send over to him thanks to your generous donations. He shares the experience of distribution with us in an email: "The entire team really got behind the effort and help me load up the chairs. I delivered them to the hospital where the doctors were waiting. I received an enthusiastic reception as equipment like this is so desperately needed in Afghanistan. At the time, there were thankfully no children needing the chairs at this hospital; however, one call did come in for a wheelchair from another location. It has been a blessing to be in a position to help the children of Afghanistan in this way. This type of support pays huge dividends in our fight to stabilize and bring peace through the Afghan Government. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to those who contributed to this effort!"
We'll be back in a couple of weeks with more updates, but before we go, please take a minute now and support LTC Velte's project and Chaplain Scott Koeman's project by giving as generously as you can. From the stories they share with us, there is reason to hope, but still much to do.
All the best,
Spirit of America Team
www.spiritofamerica.net
LTC K. MAX VELTE
Your support of ADT Deputy Commander LTC Velte's project goes towards purchasing the desperately needed children's shoes and lead ropes. Please click here to help LTC Velte.
Chaplain Koeman continues his mission in Afghanistan
Spirit of America has been working to put your donations to good use and was able to send blankets, jackets, and shoes for children to Chaplain Scott Koeman in Afghanistan. Chaplain Koeman was very grateful and writes:
"I wish you could have been there with us. It is such a blessing to be a blessing--especially when you get to see the beautiful children face to face. It's amazing. The joy that comes from giving to little children who have virtually nothing is simply indescribable. You just don't want to stop with shoes, coats, and blankets. You want to do more--and for that very reason it is good if we can bring an end to the brokenness in this land. Then perhaps they can move forward and not have to live so far behind the rest of the world."
Chaplain Koeman helping with shoes. The need goes on.
"Reflecting on what I saw that cold December day, I still cannot believe how a little girls feet can become like old leather--dirty, cracked and wrinkled. You must know that you, Spirit of America and its donors and others helped touch the lives of about 150-170 children of Afghanistan. You also helped our Soldiers gain a sense of humanity to what is otherwise too often seen as backward, broken or hopeless. Being a part of the giving is what staves off apathy that so easily comes with war and that follows close behind the losses of combat."
"Reflecting on what I saw that cold December day, I still cannot believe how a little girls feet can become like old leather--dirty, cracked and wrinkled. You must know that you, Spirit of America and its donors and others helped touch the lives of about 150-170 children of Afghanistan. You also helped our Soldiers gain a sense of humanity to what is otherwise too often seen as backward, broken or hopeless. Being a part of the giving is what staves off apathy that so easily comes with war and that follows close behind the losses of combat."
Chaplain Koeman sent us the picture above; it speaks volumes. He has 4 months left on his deployment. A lot can be done in that time. For a donation of $100, Spirit of America can buy 10 pairs of all weather shoes. That's 10 children who will not be barefoot in the cold (and hot) weather. Click here to help Chaplain Scott Koeman.
UPDATES on your contributions at work:
Afghan Fund Buys Winter Supplies - At the request of Captain Bill Spurlock stationed at Camp Alamo, Afghanistan, we used your contributions to SoA's Afghanistan Project Fund ($$) to quickly send 500 fleece coats, 500 knit caps and 500 pairs of gloves. Captain Spurlock sent this message upon receiving news of the purchase of the winter supplies and he promises pictures soon.
"This is great news I appreciate all that you all are doing to help to Counterinsurgency fight and this does just that. The bullet not fired is more important than the one that is and through our operations and with your help we believe we can win the full support of the Afghan people subsequently taking from the insurgent forces and we can only do it with support like that you are providing. My sincerest appreciation again for your efforts "in the fight".
William E. Spurlock, CPT, FA
Soccer Balls a Hit in Kyrgyzstan- Donations to Spirit of America's Unrestricted Fund supported the purchase of 100 soccer balls and 100 beanies at the request of United States Air Force Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt) Lyn Harshman in Kyrgyzstan which is home to a strategic air base. SMSgt Harshman sent this message: "Thank you so much for your support. Attached are pictures of the children receiving the soccer balls you sent. You have made many Kyrgyz children very happy and changed their impression of Americans. We appreciate you." She is pictured below with one of those happy campers.
Wheelchairs delivered by MAJ Ruthman - MAJ Eric Ruthman expresses his thanks for the 10 wheelchairs we were able to send over to him thanks to your generous donations. He shares the experience of distribution with us in an email: "The entire team really got behind the effort and help me load up the chairs. I delivered them to the hospital where the doctors were waiting. I received an enthusiastic reception as equipment like this is so desperately needed in Afghanistan. At the time, there were thankfully no children needing the chairs at this hospital; however, one call did come in for a wheelchair from another location. It has been a blessing to be in a position to help the children of Afghanistan in this way. This type of support pays huge dividends in our fight to stabilize and bring peace through the Afghan Government. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to those who contributed to this effort!"
We'll be back in a couple of weeks with more updates, but before we go, please take a minute now and support LTC Velte's project and Chaplain Scott Koeman's project by giving as generously as you can. From the stories they share with us, there is reason to hope, but still much to do.
All the best,
Spirit of America Team
www.spiritofamerica.net
