3rd Brigade Support Battalion supports more than own in Iraq
Friday, 17 November 2006
By Spc. Mike Alberts
3rd BCT, 25th Inf. Div PAO
KIRKUK — She held back tears explaining why this day meant so much to the more than 2,000 orphans in the Shorish and Chamchamal-Kalar quarters of Kirkuk.
“Sadaam
Hussein massacred their parents and destroyed their villages,” said
Surod, a local national aid worker. “Silly little things that are
meaningless to you, like a pencil, mean the world to them,” she said.
“No one gives them anything.”
Until now.
Bud’s
Organization for Children’s Rights received over 50 boxes of school
supplies, toys, stuffed animals and soccer balls to be distributed to
more than 2,000 orphans in and around Kirkuk from the 325th Brigade
Support Battalion at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Nov. 6.
Rebwar S. Muhamed -- Bud’s founder -- teaches Arabic, history and
geology to 12-year-olds in a local primary school, but devotes much of
his time to his children’s rights organization. None of his many
stories of children “doing without” were more compelling than the tale
of two students he noticed who never attended school on the same day.
“I knew these two children from the same family that attended my
class,” Muhamed said through an interpreter. “I would see one student
one day and the other student the next. I learned the reason that they
didn’t attend school together was because they were sharing a pair of
shoes.”
“War in Iraq has created a very big social problem of
widows and orphans,” Muhamed said. “I [empathize] with the children
because we suffered during our childhood just as they are suffering.
They are the future of this country, and they need our help.”
Muhamed said the orphans are in need of everything from health care,
food and clothing to shelter and other basic social services. Although
grateful for this delivery, he is anxious to get Coalition assistance
on many fronts.
The American Soldier spearheading the effort
to assist is Chaplain (Capt.) Martin Cho, battalion chaplain, 3rd
Brigade Support Battalion, 25th Infantry Division. Cho’s motivation is
both spiritual and personal.
“First, I help because the
Bible says help widows and orphans, it’s that simple,” said Cho. “Also,
I’m Korean. A lot of American (service members) supported Korean
orphans over the years. Some of those orphans who received help became
American and Korean religious, business and political leaders. My
prayer is to do what I can to give these Iraqi orphans the same
support.”
Cho said the assistance project is in its infancy.
The first challenge is to ensure the donations actually end up in the
hands of the orphans.
“This is our third contact with the
organization,” Cho said. “When you aren’t handing out assistance
directly, but relying on them to do it, you need confirmation that it
is actually getting to the orphans. So they will send us photos.
“They need so much and we cannot do it all, but we can do something.
Bud’s has opened their heart to us and now we can help connect them
with powerful people to continue to support these children and this
organization.”
