Army Sgt. 1st Class Donna Sendelbech receives a hug from a student at the Shalaw Elementary School after receiving a backpack during a recent delivery of gifts donated by service groups back in the U.S. (GRD Photo by Mike Scheck).

SULAYAMANIAH

However, the students are in for a bigger surprise after the first of the year when they move into their new school thanks to the efforts of the USACE Gulf Region District.

The school supply giveaway was orchestrated by Army Sgt. 1st Class Donna Sendelbech, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the Kirkuk office. Sendelbech had made contact with two organizations back in the States that send packages to Soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rather than receive goodie bags for themselves, Sendelbech request that the organizations send backpacks and school supplies for needy school children in Iraq. “There were two organizations, “Winning Hearts and Minds” and “Any Solider,” that donated the gifts for the giveaway,” Sendelbech said.

“These school children are an important part of our mission here,” Sendelbech admits. “I believe that they deserve the same opportunity at an education as my little girl back in the States. I know our efforts can’t solve all the problems here, but as a parent we have do whatever we can to make their lives better.”

The demand for schools throughout Iraq has far outweighed the supply and financial resources. The Shalaw elementary students currently attend school in a converted house void of electricity. That’s all about to change after the first of the year with students moving into a new 12-classroom school house. The new school will serve over 1,000 elementary and middle school student in morning and afternoon sessions; a common practice in high density urban areas in Iraq.

In addition to the 12 classrooms, the new school will have an administration building, bathrooms and a backup generator to ensure that the electricity will always be on.

The $380,000 for the school project was provided through the Commander’s Emergency Relief Fund.

(By Mike Scheck, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)