Backpacks for Iraq: Nation-Building on a Small Scale
Jul 26 '03 (Updated Sep 14 '03)
The Bottom Line An excellent opportunity to become involved in helping the children of Iraq build a bright new future. Your donations will provide school supplies for needy children.
”Mom, I’m going to Iraq.”
Nothing in life prepares you for the reality of sending your only child off to war. I stood, clutching the phone, with tears running down my face. I had known this call was coming, had pep-talked myself in front of the mirror, had believed that I would find it possible to be a strong source of encouragement and strength to my son.
All I could manage was a choked, “Oh, honey, I don’t want you to go. Tell the Marines your Mom won’t let you.”
I pulled myself together after a minute and reminded my son that he was part of the finest fighting force in the world, that he had received excellent training, and that he was a smart and strong warrior. He knew that already. I needed to say it anyway, to remind myself that my child was able to cope with that which lay before him. And he coped better than I did.
When Lance Corporal Shane Conrad arrived in the sandbox, I spent the next week in bed. I had a TV on one side and my laptop computer, hooked up to the internet, on the other pillow. I channel-flipped, obsessively looking for places where my son might be and updated the CNN page every few seconds. I soon could identify each embedded reporter, which paper they wrote for, and the best sources of news for my son’s division.
This obviously wasn’t healthy. And my son would have told me to get up and moving, much like I used to tell him on Saturday mornings that life was to be lived, not spent in bed. I had already been part of an on-line Marine Moms support group since Shane's boot camp days, I now found a group of wonderful local women who also had sons in the sandbox. The Salem Oregon Marine Moms group meets weekly to laugh, cry, pray, worry, and be there for each other. We’ve had baby showers for Marine wives. We’ve attended funerals for fallen heroes. Now, 42 out of 44 Marines are home and each homecoming is celebrated. My son is still over there and will be for some time. As the unrest in the country continues, I need a positive focus for my energy.
Backpacks for Iraq:
In early June, an on-line friend mentioned that the coalition forces – Marines, Army, and Seabees - had rebuilt the schools in the holy city of An Najaf, but the classrooms were empty. In addition to the looting and stripping of classrooms following the war, twelve years of economic sanctions had exacted a heavy toll. Iraq’s school system, formerly one of the best in the Middle East, was damaged. Average length of formal schooling was less than 5 years. And, if the bright new future that our forces had opened for the Iraqi people was to be realized, it would rest in the education and training of the Iraqi children. Children who will walk into empty classrooms this fall.
To help meet this need, Sgt. Kathryn Utecht with the Army Civil Affairs Division in An Najaf, Iraq is coordinating the Backpacks for Iraq program with the First Marines, Seventh Division. Backpacks for Iraq is designed to equip each schoolchild in An Najaf with basic school supplies to start the school year. Her goal is to see each student provided with a backpack filled with paper, pencils, and other necessary materials. The supplies will be flown to New York by Alaska Airlines and then on to Kuwait by Evergreen Humanitarian Services. both airlines have donated shipping. Once in Kuwait City the U.S. Army will pick up the shipment and transport it to Najaf where the backpacks and supplies will be distributed to local schools by the coalition forces.
Through incredibly generous donations and discounts, we are able to buy a quality backpack and fill it with supplies for less than $10. This will provide an Iraqi child with everything needed to start the school year. There are small groups around the country who are sponsoring classrooms and schools, but the need is great. You can make a difference.
How to Help:
Checks of any size to support the backpack program can be sent to:
Honor Thy Children Foundation
P.O. Box 10822
Portland, OR 97296
Please make your check payable to the Foundation and write “Backpacks for Iraq in the memo line. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Deb Conrad at conradd@proaxis.com.
All records from this account – donations and expenditures will be made available to anyone who would like to see them. Contributions will be accepted until the remaining need (approximately $2,000 is met).
Alternately, PayPal donations may be made through conradd@proaxis.com. Again, records of donations and receipts for supplies purchased with donations through PayPal will be made available to anyone who would like to see where the money is going.
Through the generosity of folks who want to make a difference, we will soon ship 700 backpacks for students and bookbags for teachers to Najaf. Here's what we'll send:
Lists of Supplies:
Kindergarten (Ages 4-5)
1 Small Backpack
2 80 Sheet Wide Rule Notebooks
1 Coloring Book
1 Box of Crayons (8 pack)
3 No. 2 Pencils
1 Pencil Sharpener (1 hole)
1 Rubber Eraser
Primary School (Ages 6-12)
1 Small Backpack
3 80 Sheet Wide Rule Notebooks
1 Coloring Book
1 Box of Crayons (8 pack)
5 No. 2 Pencils
1 Pencil Sharpener (1 hole)
1 Rubber Eraser
2 Ball point Pens
1 Easy Reading English Book (students start learning English at age 11)
Secondary and High Schools (Ages 12-18)
1 Backpack
5 80 Sheet Notebooks
1 Box Color Pencils
1 Pencil Sharpener (1 hole)
5 No. 2 Pencils
1 Rubber Eraser
2 Ball point Pens
Teacher Supplies per School
10 Scissors
2 Box Ball point Pens
2 Box Red Pens
2 Box No. 2 Pencils
10 Rulers
4 Boxes Multi-Colored Chalk
4 Boxes White Chalk
5 Chalkboard Erasers
Each bag will be generic, gender-neutral, and include the same materials to not create conflict between the students. All materials will be new.
So, what will your donation mean for the children of An Najaf? You’ll be part of the nation-building that our troops have started. You’ll be helping the same children with whom my son plays soccer and shares his MREs. They run up for hugs and he teases them, much like he would his cousins back home. It’s personal for me. It can be personal for you too.
Please help by making a contribution. You can make a positive difference for the children of An Najaf, Iraq.
And a special thank you to Epinions members who have already donated:
pluckyduck
drmomentum
magenta321
nc10
tennis_player
jnbmoore
Penguinlady
lyagushka
patch3boys
Lisa_J
brian_igo
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conradd
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Member: Deborah Conrad
Location: Coos Bay, OR
Reviews written: 105
Trusted by: 388 members
About Me:
Bio-Haiku:
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