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Baghdad Local Time:
9/9/2010 4:57:46 PM

Kabul Local Time:
9/9/2010 6:27:46 PM


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Home / School Supplies for 200 kids / School supplies / Feedback
Feedback on Donation
The requester has received the donated goods. Here is his evaluation of the donation as well as a follow-up depiction of what he did with the donation.

Evaluation
Received at least 2 boxes!


Follow-Up
What did you end up doing with the donation received?

All--

I hope this will be a satisfactory conclusion to this support. I've attached several pictures of the supplies and their delivery to the village. If you could pass on this story to those who have sent their support, I would greatly appreciate it.

The good news is that the supplies did make it to the village, the school was completed, and these supplies had a positive impact on our relationship with the villagers at a crucial time. These school supplies helped convince the villagers that we intended them no harm, that we appreciated our partnership that we'd had with them, and as a result, they convinced the local fighters to leave us alone as we were leaving.

Considering the damage to the US reputation in the area after the disaster at Kamdesh, these supplies were just what we needed and arrived in time for us to use them, so thanks for everything. On behalf of everyone at COP Lowell, we appreciate the donations a lot.

Unfortunately, there were some complications which came with the disaster at Kamdesh and some that appear to be somewhat inherent in this conflict.

First, the dangerous political and security situation that arose after the US pulled out of Kamdesh meant that I could not actually bring the supplies to the villagers personally or ensure that US forces brought the supplies. I ended up paying some locals that worked on the base as security guards to go to the village, find the village elders, and make sure the supplies got to the children. I gave them my camera to take pictures of this and those are the pictures you see.

Additionally, while we were able to complete the school before our departure, the village is now completely outside of government control. This is a mixed blessing, as there is far less open warfare there now, but our resources also don't go there any more. The village is reportedly filled with Taliban, but the school is open.

Lastly, there were issues with the Afghan National Army (ANA) before I was able to get the supplies out. As I think I mentioned earlier, as the supplies came in slowly, I stockpiled them for the beginning of the school season and the completion of the school. This coincided with our departure from the base, so there were a lot of supplies being moved in and out of buildings and prepared for departure. This meant that the school supplies were left unsecured for an evening and when I went to show my delivery men where the supplies were, I discovered several ANA soldiers rummaging through the packages. I told them to put everything they had taken back, got the ANA commander involved and most of the supplies were eventually returned to us, but some of the paper and pens were stolen by the ANA. It was a very unhappy moment for me because grown men were stealing glue sticks and crayons for what purpose I could not tell you.

Most of the supplies made it to the children, and I apologize to the Beyond Orders community for those that did not reach the villagers, but I am grateful for their assistance and they should know that it was a real blessing for the villagers and proved valuable to us as well.

We are in a new base with new needs, so I will contact you again when/if I figure out what we can use here at the front.

Thanks for your help, let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know or can help you with.

Peace,

Jake


Pictures

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