Updated 4-23-2010: Our school supplies drive continues even though I am now back in the US. Please get in touch if you would like to help with a drive at your school, your church or another community organization you are involved in; our contact information is at the bottom of this page. Thanks so much for all the support – we have managed to distribute more then 700 boxes of donated school supplies in Afghanistan and we’ve done it on a minimal shoe string budget. We have lots of wonderful folks across the country collecting supplies and we’re happy to have you join our mission!
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Afghan school children look through a broken classroom window
They crowd into a dimly lit room and sit quietly on the concrete floor or wooden benches. The paint on the walls is peeling and the inside room temperature frequently reaches a hundred degrees and drops below freezing during the winter. An occasional breeze blows between the broken shards of glass still attached to the window frames.
These students meet in an "outside classroom" under a tarp
They wait patiently. These are not prisoners, instead this is the daily routine experienced by thousands of Afghan children attending school. The school I depicted is typical of remote village schools here in Afghanistan. The children attending the school I described are fortunate because some of the remotest areas don’t have school buildings and classes are held under a large shade tree or an awning.
Afghan children in Uzbin Valley, June 2009
I have visited a few schools since arriving here and can attest to their conditions. Many of the schools do not have electricity or running water. The teacher uses a special green spray paint on concrete in place of a chalkboard to guide the lessons. It amazes me the discipline displayed by the students in these less than favorable environments.
Afghan boy with his donated ballpoint pen
These children have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and will endure substandard conditions to pacify their yearning to learn. Unfortunately, the schools don’t have enough teachers so they accommodate the children by having rotating shifts; one of the schools I have visited has so many children they are on triple sessions. The wealthier students carry a notebook and a pen or pencil to record the teacher’s instructions; however, majority of students are so poor they have no supplies and they have to rely on memorization.
While visiting a remote village in the dangerous Alisaya Valley and being mobbed by children for pens and paper, I met an outspoken 8-year-old boy. His powerful words have resonated with me and given me a renewed purpose to fight the Taliban and the insurgents using non-lethal force. For a more detailed explanation about my encounter with this brave child, please see this previous blog entry.
July 9, 2009: Winning this war with education
School children asking for pens during a medical mission
After that encounter I begin formulating a plan with my wife Liisa to provide school supplies for these children. During this planning period, I also read New York Times #1 Bestseller in 2007 titled Three Cups of Tea, which greatly inspired me. This book details the riveting journey of mountaineer Greg Mortenson and how he built schools in impoverished Pakistan and years later in Afghanistan. Since 1996, his CAI Foundation has established 130 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan with an emphasis on girls’ education.
Armed with my idea and an energetic wife, we teamed up with the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation, Inc. in Tampa, Florida, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
About 100 boxes full of donated school supplies wait for shipping at SS American Victory in Tampa (Nov. 2009)
Contributions to this foundation are tax-deductible and 100% of the proceeds (no administrative fees) will be used to support this project. Those wishing to make financial contributions should make their checks payable to the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation, Inc. and in the memo section or on a post-it note, the donor
Angela Vlachos Ruth, Executive Director of Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation, with SPC Kit Lowe and Foundation Board member and H&K partner George Howell
should write: Afghan School Supplies Fund. Checks should be mailed to Holland & Knight Foundation, PO Box 2877, Tampa, FL 33602. You can also donate online with a credit card through this link http://foundation.hklaw.com/contributions/index.asp – make sure when you finalize the transaction that you choose “Afghan Children’s Fund” in the drop down menu. All donated funds will be used to purchase school supplies and for shipping items to Afghanistan.
In Tampa, Florida, school supplies can be dropped off at the SS American Victory Mariner’s Memorial and Museum ship, which is located behind the Florida Aquarium at Channelside. (Museum is closed on Mondays; for hours of operation and directions Click here.) Our main emphasis is to provide basic school supplies to include spiral notebooks, pencils, and pens to the impoverished students along with whiteboards, markers, erasers and chalk for their teachers. We will gladly accept coloring books, crayons, metric rulers, and pencil sharpeners. A generous donor (requesting anonymity) has joined our team and will provide a backpack for each student (our goal is to help 7,000 children in the first phase of this project).
Lastly, you can help us by recruiting a church, a school, a corporation or a private organization to conduct their own school supplies drive as part of this project. If you are interested, please contact me through this e-mail address: TRexinAfghanistan@gmail.com or leave a comment on the blog. Unfortunately due to poor Internet connectivity I may not be able to respond personally, but my wife monitors both the e-mail address and the blog’s comment traffic; she will be able to provide additional details to interested parties.
On a mission in Serobi summer 2009
I may not be able to capture Osama Bin Laden personally, but I can defy the Al Qaeda and Taliban ideology by helping to educate tomorrow’s leaders in Afghanistan. So if you want to join our team and this fight for education, please send me a response or better yet – send me some school supplies.
| PROJECT SUMMARY | |
Primary supplies:
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Secondary supplies:
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Contact e-mail: TRexinAfghanistan@gmail.com
Financial donations: Make checks payable to The Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation, Inc. and in the memo section or on a post-it note write: Afghan School Supplies Fund. Mail checks to The Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation, PO Box 2877, Tampa, FL 33602. Or donate online by credit at http://foundation.hklaw.com/contributions/index.asp
Tampa, FL drop-off location: SS American Victory Mariner’s Memorial and Museum ship located behind the Florida Aquarium at Channelside.
For updates about this project, sign up as a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Afghanistan-My-Last-Tour/195225755292
If you would like to collect and donate school supplies in the Savannah, GA area, you can drop off your donations at Colonial Quilts. For more information, click on this link.
http://www.colonialquilts.us/afghan.html
You can also watch this video about the connection between the Tampa and Savannah drives.
The Coastal Source: After loss, families come together to help others
I am working the state of Mississippi and possibly parts of a few other coastal states! With Liisa and I on this… we will make this BIG! : )
If you can send me the address,. my co-workers and I will buy and ship direct to save your group time and money. We love shopping and sending stuff.
Shirley
I think you have my email but it’s slbust@aol.com
Marten says you can ship directly to him. I will email you his address! I also just got an email from our “IRA GUY” in Germany. He is donating $100 to help pay for shipping the items from the schools in Mississippi to Afghanistan! I am so excited!!!
I’d also love to ship school supplies direct, if that’s still possible. My e-mail is (felshers@hotmail.com).
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My local DAR Chapter looks for a charitable project to support at each meeting throughout the year. Please provide the address to which the supplies are to be sent?
Do you want new backpacks as well?
Dear Rex:
As I was on my morning walk, I overheard your story on NPR. Your brilliant idea of attacking the Taliban by educating tomorrow’s Afghan leaders left me truly moved, inspired to take action and ignites my motivation to contribute to your mission.
I live in Gainesville, FL and am employed as a Freelance Print Designer and Website Designer. My wife and I would both like to facilitate a school supply drive at both the University of Florida and Santa Fe College to raise school supplies for your project. As I know shipping will be a issue, I am also looking into sponsors to assist with the cost of transporting the supplies.
At your convenience, would you please email the details and contact names of whom to coordinate this effort through? And so you know, I am hungry to begin the process of organizing the resources to make this a reality!
In closing, I would like to tell you thank you for serving our country! I also value your understanding that we win minds and hearts by making the youth of the world more intelligent.
Safe Passages to you and your team!
_ _
Best Regards,
Tom Romero
Creative Director
_ _
TomRRomero.com
Phone: 352.395.6651
Fax: 352.395.6651
Email: trromero@bellsouth.net
Web: http://www.tomrromero.com
Gmail: tomrromero@gmail.com
After reading about Capt. Freeman in the 8/30/09 Wash Post, Scene and Heard by Ashley Halsey III on p.3 of the Metro section, a Google search pointed me to your site. Your presentation is worth the effort.
Thank you for your service. Come home safe.
God bless.
Great stuff – I am going to try and rally some of my website readers and army reserve unit members around this cause. HOOAAHH!!
Great stuff!
Major Chris LeCron
http://www.hooahnews.com
Dear Nephew Rex and Liisa,
Just a note of thanks for so much interesting information you are sharing with us. Reading your articles helps us to know you much better. We are sure proud of what you are doing and showing the compassion you have for all people. The school project is a great idea and we will help support it. We do continually pray for you and all the military to keep all of you safe and bring you all home safely. We appreaciate all yous do. We love you. Thank you Liisa for all your wonderful support and help. You make a wonderful team! With our love,
Uncle Blair and Aunt Rena
Dear Rex,
We will get some money off to the Holland & Knight Foundation to help with your school supplies. As I have said before I enjoy all your writing and it gives us knowledge of what you are doing. Liisa we are so proud of what you do to. You are a good team. Love Aunt Carole & Uncle Clark
How do I, get some stuff to you from my house here in Wintr Haven Fl. Will go to K- Mart and get school supplys for you
We will e-mail you separately and maybe meet in the middle between Winter Haven and Tampa to do the pick up. Liisa, SMSgt Temple’s wife
That will be fine, You pick the date and time & place. But could you make it some time after this weekend. I will get my retirement check Saturday. Then I can go to K-Mart. If that is ok, with you.
Send me that direct address and we will also send school supplies from our childcare center.
I have a ton of school supplies that I can ship. Could someone please send me the address?
What you are doing is so very, very important!! I would love to help! I will do some brain storming on this and so what I can come up with. I am sure I could get donations from Church, work, friends and family!
God knew what he was doing when he put you in that place at that particular time!! He works all things for His Good!!!
Beth
WOULD LOVE TO HELP YOUR PROJECT. I WILL DROP OFF A BUNCH OF SUPPLIES IN TAMPA AND HELP SPREAD THE WORD. ITS A GREAT CAUSE!! GOD BLESS YOU FOR ALL YOU DO FOR OUR COUNTRY!!
My friend and I crochet bell shaped hats made with acrylic yarn. Would you be interested in these for your school children? 200 to 400??
I am Matthew Freeman’s mother. I want to thank you all for helping to fulfill his dream. I’m thankful to Kit for making this dream come true for Matthew.
We have school supplies that were bought to send to Iraq schools but have lost our connection. Would you be interested in them ? spiral note books (60), colored pencils (22bx-12ct), markers (14bx-8ct), fine markers (2-36ct) , Bic pens (6-10ct), mech pencils (4-24ct), lead pencils (8-24ct), sharpeners (4), assorted stuffed animals (used in packing)
Would like to have a phone number if possible because I’m not too good with e-mail?
Hilde Cross 941-484-1904 (Venice FL)
Venice-Nokomis Federated Republican Womens Club
(VNFRWC)
I am an elementary teacher in an Dep. of Defense school in Okinawa, Japan. We are in the planning stages of doing a “Yen for Peace” fundraising drive for Gregg Mortenson’s schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I think it would be wonderful if we could also collect school supplies for you. We would be able to send you the boxes via MPS. Would that be possible?
I went to high school with Captain Matthew Freeman and his facebook memorial group led me to this page. I think this is such a great cause. What an amazing way for us civilians to help our heroes fight this war. i really admire all that you do.
I live in Chapel Hill North Carolina and my co-workers and I would love to donate school supplies. If you could email me the direct address that would be great. Thanks!
Hello Rex & Liisa!
Just a note to say I am excited to tell you that Kit’s alma mater, BC, hosted him this morning as a guest speaker. He spoke w/ “his” style and has given the men of BC a reason to gather those supplies… The school to school supply drive has begun….
sandi
I knew Capt. Matthew Freeman & his family…. his mother Lisa Freeman taught both of my children in her Science class in the Richmond Hill area of GA. I am still in shock over the loss of such a fine & brave young man as Capt. Matthew Freeman. He was a delightful person to know. Both of my children went to school with him. He will be greatly missed…. My prayers & regards to his family & all who knew him. I will do my best to help in this touching effort of a dream. Please send me the address to where I can send the needed school supplies which I will be collecting, with some sort of date they are needed by & any other information which will help me to help further this great cause. I have already posted to my face book page in honor of Veterans Day…. My prayers…My hopes & dreams for a brighter, better, & saver Nation of Nations… by the grace of God… for all.. to come !!
I knew the Freeman family while we lived in Richmond Hill. What a great family and Matt will be missed. I am visiting Savannah this week end and will make a donation at Colonial Quilts.
We are so very proud of all you are doing to help fight the war on terrorism and giving us this chance to “do our part”
Good article written, just found it using google. I immediately bookmarked your blog ! Have a fantastic day!
keep up the good work…
I just wanted to thank you very much for this enlightening article. I have already bookmarked your site, when I have more free time I am going to have to do some further browsing.
I would love to have my three grandchildren involved in this project learning about the Afghani children, boxing up supplies and sending them. My question: Are they mailed to a stateside address then shipped to Afghanistan? How does that work? What is the cheapest way to mail them? I want the children to do it. They are the peacemakers. The world is in their keeping as are we. Thank you for this effort and your service. Please advise.
Maj
You can ship to our main location in Florida or directly to Afghanistan. The price is the same if you use US Postal Service’s large flat rate box. Each box costs $11.95 to send. We will send you more information via e-mail.
Can I drop off any supplies (pens) at USF St. Petersburg?
We don’t have a drop off site at USF St Petersburg. But we have another option for you. We’ll be in touch via e-mail.
Hello, I’m with the MacDill AFB youth center in Tampa. I’m trying to put together a community service project for the kids. I’m pretty sure we can do a school supply collection. Not so sure about collecting cash donations. Would like to help out.
Hey there – my wife tried to e-mail you but got no reply. Did you still want to do something at MacDill?
Mike – Rex is away for a few days. I respond to you on his behalf via e-mail. Liisa Temple, SMSgt Temple’s wife
I found your website after thinking about the climber you mentioned in your story I heard his story on NPR
I am parent of an only child in a large extended family and Have an abundant supply of many of these things. Is there an address I can ship them to ?
I was happy to see a picture of some of the school supplies I sent and your thank you. I have white boards but am waiting until spring because I know you have a limited area to store supplies. Please let me know if I should send more boxes now or wait.
Your web page is fantastic and I’m glad you and your wife had an opportunity to visit Germany. Thank you and your wife for your service to our country and distributing school supplies to the children.
Be safe and let me know what you need. Renee
Dear Rex and Lisa,
Thank you for your work. We would like to send supplies but do not have the address. Would you email it to us? Also, do you accept gently used supplies?
Thank you.
Liisa will e-mail you tonight. Thanks for your interest.
thanks !! very helpful post!
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by LiisaTemple: So proud of my hubby and his school supplies for Afghan kids project; special page now up on his blog http://bit.ly/nUmyb #Militarymon…
I am here as a contractor. I am in touch with many families and have handled distribution of school supplies through my church and friends.
If you need an APO address to send more supplies through, feel free to contact me.
Currently I have no more coats back home in PA, so I’d better move to FL some day when I return. All of my coats are being worn by the citizens of this great but humble country.
[...] School Supplies for Afghan Children [...]
Although, you are finally on your way home and I praise God for you safe return, I have a group who are interested in donating supplies to service men still in the field. Can you connect me to who could help me with our donations?
Thank you for your service and again welcome home.