To encourage and fortify relationships between military service members, veterans, their families, their friends, and their Country; to nurture the path of communication for everyone, ensuring that no one is alone or left behind; and proving that we have not, are not, and will never forget the nobility of their sacrifices.

Monday, April 4, 2011

A Dutch Officer Helps a Paraplegic Afghan Child

Dutch officer works to improve disabled Afghan's quality of life
Dutch MAJ Edwin KokBy Tech. Sgt. April Lapetoda, NTM-A
KABUL - NATO troops walking in the Green Zone-area of Kabul between Camp Eggers and International Security Assistance Force Headquarters have become accustomed to speaking with and waving to locals in the area.

Many of the local children are eager to speak English, which they learn in school. While others also volunteer to escort troops between the compounds and walk side-by-side with their NATO friends.
Pictured: With the assistance of Netherlands Army Maj. Edwin Kok, Hamed Ghafoor uses his new hand bicycle chair for the first time, April 2. Kok is assigned to NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan as a strategic planner and has worked for the past three months to help Hamed receive a new chair. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. April Lapetoda)
One young man who stands out to many walking between the camps is Hamed Ghafoor.

Hamed is disabled and doesn't have use of his legs. He lays on a small, three-wheel cart, which sits about six inches off the ground with his legs folded under his chest and pushes himself around using his hands.

One Dutch officer saw this and looked to himself and his home country to see how he could make a change.

"Kabul is not a city where it's easy to get about, especially the way Hamed has been doing with his little cart," said Netherlands Army Maj. Edwin Kok, who is assigned to NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan as a strategic planner. "I felt sorry for him moving around on his little cart. Using his hand with a shoe on it to propel his body cannot be good for his body."
Read the rest of the article at War On Terror News. 

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