Positivity: USAF Sgt. Helps Clothe Hundreds in Afghan Village

You may need the Kleenex for this one. Read the whole thing so you’ll see what this man’s kids did:

One U.S. Air Force member and his wife launch “Operation Brian’s Compassion” to clothe needy Bamiyan villagers

Tech. Sgt. Brian Curtis, assigned to New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team Bamiyan security, immediately noticed the need of the local villagers and decided to act. He called his wife, Amy, in Wichita, Kansas, and put the call out to help.

Amy went to the community for donations.USAF Technical Sergeant Brian Curtis and NZPRT-employed interpretor Ali Sharif (back centre), with Curtis’ “adopted” Afghan family, who are wearing many of the clothes donated by the people of Wichita. She appeared on all the local TV news channels and radio stations and submitted an article in the Wichita Eagle newspaper. Her efforts brought awareness to the Wichita community of the Bamiyan people’s poverty.

As American generosity typically goes, Wichita residents responded in amazing fashion. Wal-Mart provided the drop-off points in Wichita and also agreed to double the monetary contributions collected at all the points. The Eastpoint Church of Christ, the Curtis’ church, paid most of the postage totalling just under $10,000. Amy and the other volunteers collected winter clothes filling 263 large boxes donated by Love Box.

“The main need was for winter hats, gloves, socks, and shoes, as well as coats and jeans, which last longer in the harsh conditions here,” Curtis said. “The most popular clothing items are jeans and anything with Sponge Bob Square Pants or Mickey Mouse on them.”

The donations didn’t stop with Wichita. Many other churches and organizations across America are still sending boxes. The Kansas State High School Athletic Association, who Curtis is associated, and others have sent over 2,500 soccer balls, 800 soccer jerseys and shorts, 700 shin guards plus other sports equipment

“They have almost nothing to play with, so it makes it very difficult just to be a kid…The kids really love all the soccer equipment because, of course, soccer is the dominate sport in Afghanistan, but it is still very hard for them to get the equipment required to have a good game,” Curtis said.

The main focus, however, continues to be clothing as many children in the province are walking around without socks, shoes or warm clothes.

“I know I can’t feed and clothe everyone in Afghanistan, but I’m going to try and touch the lives of as many people as I possibly can,” he said.Afghan children proudly wear some of the donated clothing, organised by Technical Sergeant Curtis. “I explain to everyone I give clothes to how much work the people of Wichita have put into gathering and sending of the clothes they are now holding … I have the fun part of the job by giving the clothes out. Sure I sort all the clothes out, but it pales in comparison to the work done back in Kansas.”

Thus far, Amy and the people of Wichita have sent over 7,000 pounds of donations, but the Curtis’ efforts don’t end there. They have also personally bought stoves for local orphanages and needy families.

“My children understand that some of the money I was going to use for presents for them is being used for people that really need necessities of life,” said Curtis. “I am very proud of them, because they said they would rather the money go to the families here.”

Curtis is also quite proud of his wife, “That is why we (the family) nicknamed her Wonder Woman. She just goes and goes until the task is done. I am extremely proud of her efforts and am a very lucky man.”

One Bamiyan family expressed their thanks to Curtis’ for their efforts through a specially written song about them, which they preformed at a recent Eid (end of Ramadan) celebration.

“There is no bigger form of flattery possible, when that is all they have,” Curtis said.

There are a lot more smiling faces and Bamiyan Province will be a much warmer place this winter thanks to the massive undertaking supplying clothes for hundreds of people in the area.