School Supplies for Afghanistan

Greetings from FOB Smart in Southeast Afghanistan!

My husband, Mark Bridges, is currently working on the Forward Operating Base SMART in Southeast Afghanistan as a Civil Engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers. He has been there since August of 2009 and will continue to work out of this base until September 2010. His work assignments include designing and overseeing the implementation of schools, roads, water systems, and prisons, among various other projects.

While Mark is far from home and away from his family, he has developed a love for the local children close to his base, FOB SMART which is located just outside the city of Qalat. Mark is required to go on site visits to inspect the work of the local contractors. While on patrol, he is escorted my military men and women who have all grown fond of the local children. The children beg Mark and the others for pens, chocolate and any other candy they are willing to give up.

As Mark has recounted the stories about the children, I decided to join in the efforts of trying to serve the children of Afghanistan who are really the innocent victims of the war. Mark has been working on two specific schools near the city of Qalat - one for boys and one for girls.

I have been gathering school supplies to send directly to Mark which in turn get directly given to the local schools for the children. While each school has over 150 children, supplies are limited, always needed and of course appreciated. To date the following supplies have been sent:

710 Pencils

2600 Sheets of Paper

64 Pencil Sharpeners

6 Large Notebooks (1200 Sheets of Paper)

513 Pencil Top Erasers

50 Single Subject Notebooks (2800 Sheets)

19 Rulers

81 Pocket Folders

180 Pens

1824 Crayons

348 Colored Pencils

30 Colored Markers

36 pcs Chalk

4 pairs Children Scissors

30 Dry Erase Markers

2 Dry Board Erasers

23 Glue Sticks

296 Sheets of Construction Paper

All donations whether they be school supplies or cash will go directly to the children. The US Postal system has made it possible to send 20 lbs of supplies for only $12.50 which is incredibly cheap. It takes approximately 3 weeks for the supplies to arrive on base where Mark is located. I will be happy to send the supplies for any group who collects the donations.

If you have any questions about this service project, please feel free to contact me at Stephanie.bridges100@gmail.com

or

Stephanie T. Bridges

3144 Swiss Drive

Santa Clara, UT 84765

Home: 435.673.2907

Both Mark and I appreciate your willingness to help others who are in need and we feel honored to be helping children around the world who have so little but are desperately trying to improve themselves through education.