Food and supplies to our troops overseas

Medical Supplies for National Hospitals and Clinics

Giving Children Hope, in partnership with Spirit of America, sent 20 pallets of medical supplies this morning to Kandahar, Afghanistan. These supplies will be used in national hospitals and clinics for the community in need.

Thanks to everyone who made this shipment possible!

2012.01.05 by Holly Johns

New Team - Same Mission

This morning we received a letter from Captain Angela Steel, a member of the team replacing an active unit in Kuwait. During her few weeks of training and correspondence with the military units receiving supplies, she’s already seeing products from Giving Children Hope meeting the needs overseas. See her letter here:

Good afternoon,

My name is Angie Steel and I recently arrived in Kuwait as a member of the team replacing SFC Jason McCloud and COL Hawkins’ Civil Affairs team. I am a nurse with a background in pediatrics and public health. My team is led by COL Tim Miller Jr., who is an engineer with over 37 years of military service and extensive experience in the power plant industry. We have been in Kuwait about a month and are quickly learning all that goes into the mission of getting the goods donated by yours and other organizations forward to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan so they can be distributed to the local population in these locations. In the short time I have been corresponding with the military units we send supplies to, I have heard many great stories and thanks. I have a soft spot in my heart for children, so when I see the smiling faces of these kids getting the help they deserve, it makes my day and puts a smile on my face. So thank you for that! The hard work and selflessness of your organization truly does make a difference. I will continue to send you pictures as I get them from the units, as well as post them on our facebook page.

I look forward to working with you,

Angela Steel, CPT, AN

Thank you to everyone who continues to make these shipments possible. Know that your contributions are truly making a difference to our men and women serving overseas in our military!

2011.08.25 by Holly Johns

Aid Received by Military

Our team received a report of the medical supplies and humanitarian aid recently received by troops in Afghanistan. See the note from Captain Bryan Blair and photos from the field here:

My name is Captain Bryan Blair, and I am the civil affairs officer for Special Operations Task Force-South, working in Kandahar, Afghanistan. This week we recieved a shipment of medical supplies donated from your organization, which we sincerely appreciate. Today we began sorting the items based on the needs of the various clinics and hospitals we help support, based on the advice of our local contacts with the Government Ministry of Health and our field reports based on assessed needs. In the pictures in the attached powerpoint you will see us unloading and repacking the supplies based on destination. We know you packed them as kits, but we have to repack them based on needs of the individual clinics, and also because the supplies will most likely be air delivered, as the clinics that most of this will be going to are in the remote regions of the province that are not reliably serviced by roads. Having them air dropped to our teams in these areas also prevents any misappropriation while in transit. As we get the materials out to the sites, we will follow up with some photos of the actual donations and the humble people impacted by your generosity.

While most people understand the immediate benefit of humanitarian aid deliveries, I think the emotional impact is often underrated. For many, these humanitarian deliveries are the long awaited confirmation that the Afghan Government and the world community really do have the interests of the Afghan people in mind and are capable of delivering basic humanitarian services to even the most remote regions. This goes along way in helping local citizens realize that there is hope for a better life of peace and stability and that it is worth supporting that peaceful alternative. That choice in turn reduces the factors that perpetuate the chronic unmet needs of the people of Afghanistan.

Thanks again,
CPT Bryan Blair

Thanks to everyone who made this shipment possible!

2011.08.15 by Holly Johns

A letter from our troops!

Good morning,

I just wanted to thank your organization for the Humanitarian supplies that
we received in our HA Yard here on KAF (Kandahar Air Field). We have
received shipments in the past year, but I did not have an email address
until this shipment, which had the website address.

The clinic supplies kits you have sent out will be issued out as requested
to units(both US and coalition) working with the Afghan government.

V/R
SSG BREAUX
ASST HA YARD NCOIC

1969.12.31 by GCHope

A good word from our soldiers

After sending a package of medical supplies to our soldiers overseas, we received word back about the status of the package and the benefit it was to their mission:

Dear Giving Children Hope and Union Rescue Mission,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the gracious shipment of medical supplies we have received. We received the supplies here in Kuwait and sent them to our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The soldiers assured us that the medical supplies are doing a great deal of good in their respective areas. The supplies have been given to rural clinics and hospitals where they will be able to provide aid to hundreds of people who are unable to travel to larger hospitals.

Please accept our thanks for your donations. We would not be able to accomplish this paramount mission without the help of organizations such as yours.

Sincerely,

Leonard C. Hawkins
COL, CA
Team Chief

1969.12.31 by GCHope