Kansas Council of Chapters - MOAA Military Officers Association Of America Serving The Seven Great Kansas MOAA Chapters Help Us Learn - Give Us Hope A Special Project To Provide Educational Materials to Iraq and Afghanistan Childern Where None Exists COL Gary LaGrange, Past President  of the Kansas Council of Chapters and the Flint Hills Chapter with the strong assistance of his wife, Jan created this program at the request of a deployed Army Capitan who saw it as a way to help improve relations with locals and to reduce the violence, . He reports that this special program created to aid school children in Iraq and Afghanistan is working well but needs your help to continue. To date more than 2,000 of our soldiers have asked for help and support from the program. The program is called “Help us Learn...Give us Hope” which has shipped tens of thousands of pounds of school supplies to more than 460,000 school children in these countries. The supplies are distributed by American soldiers in support of their efforts to build good relationships with local communities. While to date this large number of  children have received supplies through your support, it is estimated that more than 600,000 children still need help in the war torn areas. Today requests from Afghanistan far exceed the ability of “Help us Learn…Give us Hope” to respond. Each week we ship supplies and books for 400 to 800 children. So far we have reached hundreds of thousands of children and thousands of teachers with these supplies. A Kansas native Special Forces soldier, now a civilian, who is the principal character in the book “Horse Soldiers”, the story of the defeat of the Taliban in 2002,  is back in Afghanistan working to rebuild schools, medical clinics and improve water systems. He has introduced “Help us Learn…Give us Hope” to all Special Forces units deployed along the border with Pakistan and in the Northern Provinces.  All of these units are asking for school supplies to be sent to them because focusing on education is one of the best ways for them to build a positive working relationship with the Shura of village elders. This week, Major Trujillo, a Special Forces officer in Eastern Pakistan, sent the two pictures here of schools in his area of operations that clearly show the need. The children and teachers there are without even a pencil. So that we might help more of these soldiers and children, I ask for your continued support. COL LaGrange asks that you consider contributing money to enable the shipment of supplies and more than 250,000 books which are now setting idle in a warehouse as well as supplies. Any and all supplies are also very welcome An Update On This Ongoing Council And Chapters Supported Very Special Program Your Help Is Need ! If You Have Questions or Would Like More Information go to the Program’s Web Site  at  www.helpusliearngiveushope.org Or Click Here -->