Afghanistan
Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan - Education, Awareness
website
Our goals are to advance education and educational opportunities for Afghan women
and their families; and to educate and increase the understanding of Canadians about
human rights in Afghanistan.

Donor funded projects are implemented and managed in partnership with Afghan
non-profit organizations. These projects include a number of community schools,
village libraries, an orphanage, as well as teacher training, literacy, English and
computer classes.

The projects are funded mainly from individual donations from Canadians and 100% of
funds donated go to women-centered projects in Afghanistan.


Central Asia Institute - Building Schools
website
The books that changed the way people think about changing the world: Peace Through
Education

In Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One
School at a Time, Greg Mortenson, and journalist David Oliver Relin,
recount the journey that led Mortenson from a failed 1993 attempt to climb
Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain, to successfully
establish schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and
Pakistan. By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson
combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the
third-world to promote peace with books, not bombs, and successfully
bring education and hope to remote communities in central Asia.
Three Cups of Tea is at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring
true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at
a time.















Also visit the Pennies for Peace website which educates children about the world beyond their experience and shows them that they can make a positive impact on a global scale, one penny at a time.


Davy Weaver Memorial Project - Support for the children of Afghanistan
website

Our mission is:
  • to provide direct aid to the children of Afghanistan for the basic necessities of life
  • to help promote a positive image of the men & women in the military serving the United States and our Allies in their efforts to assist the people of Afghanistan in becoming independent of Taliban & Al Qaida Influence
  • to show the goodwill of the American people and by doing so provide a safer operating environment for those who serve
  • to keep our Soldiers safer one child, one unit, at a time


Mercy Corps - Helps build businesses, improve health, education, microloans, mobile veterinary services
website

Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.

Mercy Corps has been working alongside the indomitable Afghan people for more than 20 years, helping them build their businesses, improve their health, educate their children and participate more fully in civil society. This boy radiates the enthusiasm of participants at a field-based coaching session for community workers. They’re learning how to improve village life by involving local people in the decisions that affect them. Other Mercy Corps programs in Afghanistan provide microloans to hardworking entrepreneurs (more than two-thirds of whom are women) and mobile veterinary services to help farmers improve the health of their animals.


Operation AC - Sends shoes, clothing to Afghan Orphanage
website

We ship items for the orphanage that Col. Gebelein has supported in Afghanistan. They usually hitch a ride with the supplies we send out to our deployed troops. If you have children's clothes (washed) for both cold weather and warm, and we would like to send childrens' size sneakers of all sizes. They must be new sneakers, or if you want to mail us a Payless Shoes, Walmart, K-Mart, or Kohl's store gift cards and we can get the shoes and mail them to the Orphanage. They are also in need of money and Judge Gebelein is now back in Delaware and back on the Superior Court bench. His staff has set up a fund for this Orphanage. Here is the information to mail in funds to them. We just provide logistics for this project, this was started by the Judge's staff when he was called up to serve in the Delaware National Guard to Afghanistan. We are proud of Judge Gebelein's service and we welcome him home to Delaware! His mission continues and we hope for your support. Thank you kind friends.


Operation Crayon - Sends school supplies, hygiene items, clothing
www.adoptaplatoon.org

Your gift will be sent to a proud military unit who has adopted schools in, Iraq and/or Afghanistan.You can help by sending these desperately needed items: children’s clothing, undergarments, socks, new or gently used shoes, school supplies (pens, pencils, notebooks, writing tablets, workbooks, folders, crayons, etc.), candy, gum, toothpaste and toothbrushes. Project created by the AdoptaPlatoon™.


Operation Dreamseed - Planting dreamseeds of freedom through education
website

We nurture long-term solutions and initiatives that help overcome the challenges in under-developed countries plagued by persistent conflict. Operating within the values of freedom, democracy, education, and self-betterment, Operation Dreamseed will develop and support education initiatives in the schools and education systems of underdeveloped countries in order to foster and facilitate the access to and process of learning.

Has a downloadable supplies kit information packet and addresses of where to send donated items.


Operation Iraqi Children - Sends school supply kids and other necessities
website
A program that enables Americans to send school supply kits and other necessities to Iraqi children.  Today, we serve not only Iraq's children, but children in other nations served by American troops, such as Afghanistan and Djibouti.


Operation World - More about Afghanistan and how to pray for this country
website
The primary purpose of Operation World is PRAYER.


Prayer Central (Afghan Prayer Patrol) - Praying for the troops, leaders and the people of Afghanistan
http://prayercentral.net/engage-me/patrols/afghan
We serve the Prince of Peace and our intercession should seek to inject peace into conflict anywhere we find it. Military might, rockets and technology will never bring true peace. Our war is not against flesh and blood, but there are spiritual opponents that must be brought down. That can only be done, by the collective prayers and obedience of God’s people ushering in the power of God. Join us in Patrolling over Afghanistan


Project Artemis -  Business skills training program that aims to build entrepreneurial skills of Afghan businesswomen
website
Included in the project are two weeks of business and entrepreneurial decision-making training; mentorship by women entrepreneurs; site visits to U.S. businesses; and follow up support and business coaching online.

Thunderbird is uniquely positioned to provide the type of training that has made Project Artemis successful. As the world’s top-ranked international business school, Thunderbird has the knowledge, the capacity, and the global network to provide business training in even the world’s most challenging environments. In keeping with our mission, to educate global leaders who create sustainable prosperity worldwide, programs like Project Artemis prove that business and education can be powerful tools for building peace and prosperity.

Project Artemis helps educate the best and brightest of women. Fellows move forward with their individual accomplishments that make, not only a personal economic impact, but a contribution to the greater society.


Soldiers' Angels - Soldier humanitarian missions in local towns and villages
www.soldiersangels.org
"May No Soldier Go Unloved," encapsulates the motivation behind Soldiers' Angels. Through special projects, dedicated teams and individuals supporting our troops in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, we make a visible difference in the lives of our service members and their families. Our nearly 200,000 volunteers assist veterans, wounded and deployed personnel and their families in a variety of unique and effective ways.

Say Our Soldiers: Kids In-theater Deserve Support
We have had many requests from deployed American service members asking for items to help them in their humanitarian missions to local towns and villages. Many of them are parents or have young brothers and sisters, and their hearts go out to local children who have so much less than many other children--they often give up their own goodies and snacks to be able to share with the kids they see every day on their patrols.  In addition, humanitarian efforts help our troops on the ground build relationships that improve living conditions, ultimately increasing opportunities for peace and saving the lives of local civilians and American military personnel.


Stuffed Animals for Emergencies
www.stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org
SAFE is currently assisting AdoptaPlatoon in their Operation Crayon program by donating small stuffed animals to U.S. deployed troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to be used on humanitarian missions.


The Afghanistan Orphanage Project (TAO Project) - Raising funds to build an orphanage
website

The TAO Project is dedicated to providing the orphaned and homeless children of Afghanistan with shelter, food, clothing, health services, education, and love. The TAO Project will achieve this mission statement by raising the funds to build an orphanage in the Kahlakhan district, near Kabul. The orphanage will be home to over 1,000 children. Another focus of the TAO Project is to bring Afghanistan children to the United States for life-saving surgeries, critically needed medical aid and rehabilitation.


The Hugs Project - Send homemade flat bears for the children of Iraq/Afghanistan
www.thehugsproject.com
This website has a pattern to create homemade stitched flat bears for the Soldier to distribute to the children of Afghanistan and Iraq.


The Khaled Hosseini Foundation - Relief and shelter for families, econonomic opportunities for women, education for children
www.khaledhosseinifoundation.org
The Khaled Hosseini Foundation provides humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan to help alleviate suffering and build healthy communities. We make these grants with the hope that our gifts will make a meaningful and enduring difference. The Foundation will give priority to programs and projects providing relief and shelter for families, economic opportunities for women, and education for children.


Troops Need You - Tailored responses to local needs
www.troopsneedyou.com
Our mission is to deliver the resources the troops need to win over the local people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Major Egland saw first hand in Iraq and Afghanistan that the troops are well equipped to engage in combat, but need the American people to equip them to engage communities.  Soldiers and Marines have proven that providing tailored responses to local needs--whether medical supplies, water filtration systems or enough sports equipment to start a soccer league--builds trust and makes the people more willing to stand up, so our troops can stand down and come home--victorious.


Trust in Education - Education, health care, reconstruction and economic programs
www.trustineducation.org
We, a group of neighbors, began in 2003 by raising funds to build a school in Lalander, Afghanistan. The school opened in the Spring of 2005.

As support grew, so did out commitment.  We are now providing education, health care, reconstruction and economic programs to several Afghan villages, including Lalander. The generous contributions of Stop Hunger Now and Reverend Billy Olsen and his congregation (located in North Carolina) enabled us to provide food and clothing to refugee camps in Kabul. We are also assisting Aschiana, a nonprofit NGO located in Kabul, by finding sponsors for street children. Sponsors provide $20 a month to a street child, which enables that child to leave the streets long enough to attend school.

We are constantly searching for ways to assist Afghans and their communities. As you read through the website, particularly the newsletters, you will discover that our search has taken us in several directions. Why? We learned early on that if you want to know what “they” need, ask them. Together we identify and prioritize their needs. Then we set about addressing as many as we can.  It’s the best way to go toward the ultimate goal, which is, helping them free themselves from their dependence upon others.  


War Kids Relief - US/Afghan Junior Investor Program
www.warkidsrelief.org
War Kids Relief, a program of the nonprofit Children’s Culture Connection, is a nonpolitical peace-building organization that creates facilities, programs and expertise enabling children traumatically affected by war to realize new possibilities for their lives. As an integral part of this mission, War Kids Relief provides opportunities for young people to play a leadership role in the pursuit of peace. (See also A Soldier's March for Peace)

The goal of this particular program is to implement a joint peace-building and educational program in American middle and high schools that gives US students the opportunity to build positive relationships with their Afghan peers by teaching one another about their lives. This groundbreaking program will also give US students the opportunity to co-invest in the vocational training of their Afghan peers. US students will learn from their Afghan friends as they receive training to develop sustainable, market-based solutions in order to strengthen their local economies and help them avoid recruitment into insurgent groups as a means to an end.


World Vision - Health Services, Water and Sanitation
website

World Vision is working to construct and rehabilitate water systems and improve the domestic water supply for 1,750 families. Irrigation rehabilitation and other health-related hygiene and sanitation programs are included.

Several projects operate to address the need for adequate health services when chronic illnesses such as tuberculosis are widespread. Currently, maternal and children’s health services are inadequate, and prenatal and postnatal care is nonexistent despite women giving birth to an average of seven children in a lifetime. To help address these needs, World Vision is constructing health clinics to provide care for needy families. Efforts also support mobile clinics that provide emergency health-care services, offer community-based monitoring, and distribute basic emergency health kits.

Through its many programs, World Vision is working to transform the lives of people living in Afghanistan, giving them hope for the future.
Iraq
Airborne Angel Cadets  - Sending toys and school supplies to be distributed by U.S. military personnel
website

Many, many items are requested by our kind-hearted soldiers specifically to give to the kids and adults in Iraq and Afghanistan. Backpacks, toys, candy, school supplies, shoes, socks, soccer balls.


Beanies for Baghdad - Sending toys and school supplies to be distributed by U.S. military personnel
website

Typically items needed include: Beanie Babies, stuffed animals, school supplies, frisbees, balls, sporting equipment in general, small cars (hot wheels, matchbox and etc.), treats (individually wrapped).

The troops look forward to receiving and distributing the items you ship creating long lasting friendships and sharing smiles with children where many live in extreme poverty. Your support is very much appreciated and the requests from the troops remains strong.


Doctors Without Borders - Medical attention
website

One of the greatest challenges facing independent humanitarian action today is that of reaching civilians caught in war and armed conflicts. Nowhere is this more frustratingly illustrated than in Iraq, where MSF (DWB) has struggled to gain a meaningful foothold since the US-led invasion of 2003. Various military and political actors have sought to use and abuse humanitarian action for political purposes and in doing so have made humanitarian organizations a target for violent attacks. This has undermined the ability of MSF (DWB), and other neutral humanitarian organizations to address critical needs of the civilian population.


Laptops for Literacy - One laptop per child to promote literacy in schools
www.soldiersangelsnetwork.com

HM1 Charlotte G. Ward is stationed in Iraq on her 3rd tour of duty as a Navy Corpsman. She has taken the lead on a project called "Laptops for Literacy." "We are working with the Marines on joint activities bringing educational resources to the local populations. We are rebuilding a school and working on literacy issues. We see the difference the availability of education has on improving lives and bringing stability and understanding to these areas." HM1 Charlotte Ward

Soldiers' Angels is proud to assist her in achieving her goals for one laptop per child.

Mercy Corps - Emergency humanitarian supplies, assistance to most vulnerable (disabilities, children), education
website

Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.

Ongoing violence has forced millions of Iraqis to leave their homes and communities. Mercy Corps is providing emergency humanitarian supplies such as drinking water, blankets, cooking stoves and kerosene. We’re also helping those most vulnerable, particularly people with disabilities and families with school-age children. We’re helping thousands of Iraqi children keep learning, restoring a measure of normalcy amid extremely difficult conditions and offering a path toward greater opportunity.


Operation Blossom - Help support an Iraqi refugee relocated in America by buying a handbag
www.operationgive.com

Blossom Bags are handmade by an Iraqi refugee, who gave his/her all to help our troops fighting for the freedom of their country. As a result this person became a target and was forced to flee their homeland. This person has now been relocated to find a life in America. Buying a bag gives this person a job and an opportunity to earn a living so that he/she may provide for their family. Buy a bag and help a family blossom.


Operation Crayon - Sends school supplies, hygiene items, clothing
www.adoptaplatoon.org

Your gift will be sent to a proud military unit who has adopted schools in, Iraq and/or Afghanistan.You can help by sending these desperately needed items: children’s clothing, undergarments, socks, new or gently used shoes, school supplies (pens, pencils, notebooks, writing tablets, workbooks, folders, crayons, etc.), candy, gum, toothpaste and toothbrushes. Project created by the AdoptaPlatoon™.


Operation Dreamseed - Planting dreamseeds of freedom through education
website

We nurture long-term solutions and initiatives that help overcome the challenges in under-developed countries plagued by persistent conflict. Operating within the values of freedom, democracy, education, and self-betterment, Operation Dreamseed will develop and support education initiatives in the schools and education systems of underdeveloped countries in order to foster and facilitate the access to and process of learning.

Has a downloadable supplies kit information packet and addresses of where to send donated items.


Operation Give - Projects include baseball, soccer, health, clean teeth, toys, school supplies, medical supplies
website
The most unique aspect of Operation Give is that it not only supplies humanitarian aid to civilians in combat zones, but it also provides US military personnel who are deployed in those areas with the opportunity to connect with the civilians. Through our connections and contacts in the military, we desire to provide them with the resources needed to accomplish their mission of winning the hearts and minds of the people. This mission is just as important to us as providing much needed supplies and resources for the children of the countries where the military are stationed.

The mission of Operation Give is to bring hope and happiness to struggling people the world over by helping them to gain access. Through servicing the requests of caring soldiers and civilians, we are working towards bringing disconnected economies into the global community, that all may experience the benefits and the peace that comes from economic connectivity and world-wide trade. As a bastion of freedom we, through kind and generous donations will provide the U.S. soldiers and indigenous civilians with the resources they need. Our focus will be greatest on children in these areas.


Operation Iraqi Children - Sends school supply kids and other necessities
website
A program that enables Americans to send school supply kits and other necessities to Iraqi children.  Today, we serve not only Iraq's children, but children in other nations served by American troops, such as Afghanistan and Djibouti.


Operation Iraqi Friendship - Sends school supply kids, baby supplies, Soldier care packages
website
Operation Iraqi Friendship takes pride in helping United States soldiers get basic school supplies, toys and clothing to children in Iraq.  Our goal is to not only help improve life for children in Iraq, but to also help foster better relations between US soldiers and the people of Iraq so we can work together to build a better and free Iraq where children can have dreams and hopes of a promising future and our soldiers will be safer as they work to make that happen.


Operation Puppy Love - Toy stuffed puppy dog drive
website
These toys of comfort, much like our therapy dogs, are making extraordinary differences. Toys will go to hospitalized Iraqi children, sadly victims of war. They will also be distributed by soldiers to the children on the street or in schools. Help us send contributions of a very different kind of pet therapy to many children in a war torn country who desperately need something to snuggle and hold onto.


Operation World - More about Iraq and how to pray for this country
website
The primary purpose of Operation World is PRAYER.


Prayer Central (Baghdad Prayer Patrol) - Praying for the troops, leaders and the people of Iraq
http://baghdad.prayercentral.net/
What if Baghdad were a city of peace? What if the impossible happened and it became a beacon of hope for the region? What if we prayed, and God answered, what could happen? Did you know that Baghdad was once called Madinat Al-Salam, city of peace? Maybe that’s its God given destiny, maybe if we agree with God, we can change history.


Soldiers' Angels - Soldier humanitarian missions in local towns and villages
www.soldiersangels.org
"May No Soldier Go Unloved," encapsulates the motivation behind Soldiers' Angels. Through special projects, dedicated teams and individuals supporting our troops in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, we make a visible difference in the lives of our service members and their families. Our nearly 200,000 volunteers assist veterans, wounded and deployed personnel and their families in a variety of unique and effective ways.

Say Our Soldiers: Kids In-theater Deserve Support
We have had many requests from deployed American service members asking for items to help them in their humanitarian missions to local towns and villages. Many of them are parents or have young brothers and sisters, and their hearts go out to local children who have so much less than many other children--they often give up their own goodies and snacks to be able to share with the kids they see every day on their patrols.  In addition, humanitarian efforts help our troops on the ground build relationships that improve living conditions, ultimately increasing opportunities for peace and saving the lives of local civilians and American military personnel.


Stuffed Animals for Emergencies
www.stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org
SAFE is currently assisting AdoptaPlatoon in their Operation Crayon program by donating small stuffed animals to U.S. deployed troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to be used on humanitarian missions.


TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) Iraq - Bereavement and emotional support to war survivors,
empowerment to widows to increase their economic independence
www.taps.org/iraqconnection
Grief stemming from traumatic death transcends political boundaries and military objectives. Those killed in Iraq, whether American or Iraqi, leave behind family members, tribal relatives, and friends who love them dearly and miss them terribly. The lives of the survivors must be rebuilt around an unexpected and unwanted void. The pain of their grief is the same, because it is the result of loving so much. TAPS understands the pain of losing a loved one in conflict, but also acknowledges the complex barriers faced by those in Iraq. Beyond needing emotional support, widows face the struggle of providing financially for their families. TAPS programs will bring both comfort and healing, as well as providing training and skills necessary to economically sustain their families.

TAPS has staff in Washington, DC and now in Baghdad, Iraq who are lovingly bringing comfort to those who have suffered a loss and empower them through economic opportunities. Through TAPS’ proven business model, programs and documented processes, Iraqi and American families will build a foundation for healing and the establishment of a stable society.

TAPS’ programs in Iraq seek to address both the social and emotional needs of those traumatized by war and local hostilities. TAPS will provide bereavement and emotional support to war survivors. TAPS will also help to seed microbusinesses across Iraq’s provinces to train disadvantaged Iraqi widows on a set of skills that will empower them politically and increase their economic independence.


The Hope of Iraq (Operation Military Pride) - Send items for Iraqi children to deployed military personnel
www.operationmilitarypride.org/hope
The Hope of Iraq was initiated based on a special request from a deployed military service member. He's requesting to give our help to the hope and future of Iraq, some much needed help. Won't you please help in sending what you can?


The Hugs Project - Send homemade flat bears for the children of Iraq/Afghanistan
www.thehugsproject.com
This website has a pattern to create homemade stitched flat bears for the Soldier to distribute to the children of Afghanistan and Iraq.


The List Project - Resettle Iraqi Allies
www.thelistproject.org
The List Project is a U.S. non-profit, founded in 2007 with the belief that the United States Government has a clear and urgent moral obligation to resettle to safety Iraqis who are imperiled due to their affiliation with the United States of America. We are the first comprehensive organizational effort to honor the sacrifice of these Iraqis.

We've launched this site for Americans who want to help and the Iraqis who need it. Looking for a place to begin? Educate yourself, Get involved, Support the Project, Stay informed. If you are an Iraqi who helped the U.S. or you represent one who needs help, email us immediately: refugees@thelistproject.org


Troops Need You - Tailored responses to local needs
www.troopsneedyou.com
Our mission is to deliver the resources the troops need to win over the local people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Major Egland saw first hand in Iraq and Afghanistan that the troops are well equipped to engage in combat, but need the American people to equip them to engage communities.  Soldiers and Marines have proven that providing tailored responses to local needs--whether medical supplies, water filtration systems or enough sports equipment to start a soccer league--builds trust and makes the people more willing to stand up, so our troops can stand down and come home--victorious.


War Kids Relief - US/Iraq Young Ambassador Program
www.warkidsrelief.org
War Kids Relief, a program of the nonprofit Children’s Culture Connection, is a nonpolitical peace-building organization that creates facilities, programs and expertise enabling children traumatically affected by war to realize new possibilities for their lives. As an integral part of this mission, War Kids Relief provides opportunities for young people to play a leadership role in the pursuit of peace. (See also A Soldier's March for Peace)

The goal of this particular program is to foster peace, respect and friendship among US and Iraqi teens through a multi-faceted cultural exchange experience; to create marketable evidence of the process and results for the American and international communities to see; to inspire participating kids to embrace their leadership roles beyond completion of the program and reach even larger audiences; to create a teaching template that can be used in middle and high schools nationwide.


Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids - Provides wheelchairs for Iraqi children with disabilities
www.wheelchairsforiraqikids.com

Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids helps Iraqi children with disabilities by providing high quality pediatric wheelchairs, each sponsored by individual and corporate donors.  Sponsors receive a picture of the children as they are placed in their wheelchair for the first time! This is a unique opportunity, as families around the world have the opportunity to directly impact the life of an Iraqi family with a real need in a big way.

This incredible gift literally changes the life of the child as well as the family.  Children with disabilities discover a new level of mobility not previously experienced.  The family no longer carries the heavy child from place to place.  And the heart of the community is touched, resulting in long-lasting friendships!


World Vision - Medical Supplies, Relief Items, School Rehabilitation, Water and Sanitation
website

World Vision has worked in the Middle East for 28 years addressing the needs from its offices in Beirut and Jerusalem (West Bank Gaza). During the 1991 Gulf War, World Vision provided emergency supplies to Iraqis inside and outside of Iraq through local partners. Relief efforts continued in Iraq from the World Vision office in Jordan.

World Vision’s focus has been school rehabilitation, water and sanitation projects, provision of medical supplies, relief items, and registration of internally displaced people (IDPs).

With frequent attacks on coalition forces, Iraqis and humanitarian organizations make Iraq a difficult place to run an operation. The recent trend toward kidnapping expatriates is a disturbing development. Staff security is a top priority to World Vision.

A key strategy of World Vision from the outset of Iraq focused on building relationships with people across a wide spectrum of society. In doing so, World Vision created a network of positive relationships and built an encouraging reputation amongst Iraqis’ in Mosul an Al Rutbah. These relationships provide a degree of protection.

Necessary security precautions and a remote management model in Jordan allow World Vision to continue meeting urgent humanitarian needs as identified by the community and the United Nation. Existing programs focus on children, provide assistance in the areas of water and sanitation, primary health care, and school rehabilitation, and support income generation activities. World Vision has implemented these programs in the communities of al Rutbah, Mosul, and Ninewa. Presently, World Vision will not seek sponsorship funding for Iraq, given the eventual wealth of the country and the allowed maximum 5-10 year program limit for non-government and humanitarian organizations.


Here you will find a sampling of agencies that are actively at work bringing aid to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. By listing these agencies, Operation We Are Here is not endorsing these agencies. We simply want to make you aware of some wonderful opportunities of bringing hope to the people of these countries.
Airborne Angel Cadets  - Sending toys and school supplies to be distributed by U.S. military personnel
website

Many, many items are requested by our kind-hearted soldiers specifically to give to the kids and adults in Iraq and Afghanistan. Backpacks, toys, candy, school supplies, shoes, socks, soccer balls.


Beanies for Baghdad - Sending toys and school supplies to be distributed by U.S. military personnel
website

Typically items needed include: Beanie Babies, stuffed animals, school supplies, frisbees, balls, sporting equipment in general, small cars (hot wheels, matchbox and etc.), treats (individually wrapped).

The troops look forward to receiving and distributing the items you ship creating long lasting friendships and sharing smiles with children where many live in extreme poverty. Your support is very much appreciated and the requests from the troops remains strong.


Copyright Benita Koeman 2008 - 2010
Books
Listen to the Wind:
The story of Dr. Greg & Three Cups of Tea           Authors:  Greg Mortenson
Copyright @ 2009
Ages 4-8


Saved by Her Enemy:
An Iraqi woman's journey from the heart of war to the heartland of America           Authors:  Don Teague, Rafraf Barrak
Copyright @ 2010

For her entire life, Rafraf, a devout Muslim, had been told that Americans were the enemy. Her understanding of the world, of her place in it, and of the United States had been steeped in the culture of Iraq under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Yet, in the midst of insurgents attempting to kidnap and kill her, she found herself on the receiving end of lifesaving help from those she considered her enemies.Rafraf suddenly finds herself living with a Christian family in the Bible Belt of America. Nothing had prepared her for this new reality—the life of a college student in a vastly foreign culture, in a community as far from her expectations as she could have imagined, and in a family that opens their hearts to enfold her.Saved by Her Enemy is a riveting journey of two very different people from opposite sides of the world, of faith, of experience, and of expectations. The dramatic intersection of their lives and their journey together is an inspiration to those who have ever felt there was more to life than the world they knew. A young Iraqi woman, an American war correspondent, and a true tale of friendship, faith, and family against the backdrop of war and the collision of culturesThis is a story of a very unlikely friendship—between American war correspondent Don Teague and Rafraf Barrak, an Iraqi college girl who won a job as a translator for NBC during the early months of violence in the wake of the American invasion of Iraq.While covering a story together, the two were nearly killed by a bomb, an experience that created a bond between them that led them down a path neither could have imagined.What follows is a story of transformation, as Rafraf—from a devout Muslim family—becomes the target of terrorist threats to kidnap and murder her. Don and his fellow correspondents mobilize to help save her life and suddenly Rafraf finds herself on the receiving end of an offer for safety and a new life in the United States. Dramatically transplanted from the streets of Iraq to the Bible Belt of middle America, Rafraf finds everything that she knew—or thought she knew—about herself, her values, her world, even faith and family, turned upside down. Meanwhile, Don; his wife, Kiki; and their children discover they’ve embarked on an adventure with Rafraf that reshapes their lives. This captivating story inspires us all to join Don and Rafraf in discovering that there is far more to life than the world we know.


Stones into Schools:
Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan           Author:  Greg Mortenson
Copyright @ 2009


Three Cups of Tea:
One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time           Authors:  Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
Copyright @ 2006, 2007


Three Cups of Tea:
One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time (The Young Reader's Edition)           Authors:  Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
Adapter: Sarah Thomson
Copyright @ 2009
Humanitarian Aid:
Agencies assisting the people of Afghanistan and Iraq
_________________________________________________________________________
Resources