| From Classbrain.com Gifts that Make a Difference Operation Iraqi Children Actor Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, CSI NY) and author Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit: An American Legend) announce the launch of Operation Iraqi Children, a program that will enable Americans to send School Supply Kits to Iraqi children. “During and after Operation Iraqi Freedom, American soldiers passing through Iraqi villages were horrified at the squalor of Iraqi schools, which had been severely neglected under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Corralled in sweltering one-room buildings without air conditioning, fans, windows, solid floors, or even toilets, Iraqi students lack even the rudimentary supplies that American children take for granted. Libraries and books are almost nonexistent. Without these basic tools of education, Iraqi children face an uphill struggle to learn.” “Inspired by their conversations with Operation Iraqi Freedom soldiers as well as Sinise's recent tour of the region, Sinise and Hillenbrand founded Operation Iraqi Children, a grass roots program to provide concerned Americans with a means to reach out to Iraqi kids and help support our soldiers' efforts to assist the Iraqi people.” “Through the School Supply Kit Program, American children, church groups, and other organizations can help Iraqis by gathering school supplies in local drives, assembling them in kits according to our instructions, then sending them to the VFW for transport to Iraq, where our soldiers will take them to Iraqi villages.” To learn more about this operation and to find out how you can help, go to www.operationiraquchildren.org. Source: OiC - Operation Iraqi Children © Copyright 2003 by ClassBrain.com |