Local United States of Agricuture employee, Anthony Beals has been working in Afghanistan for the past nine months, spending his spare time visiting the nearest orphanage.
He was saddened to see the children didn’t have any toys and soon learned they were the last to receive any humanitarian care of any kind. Returning periodically he expressed his feelingsfrustration about the situation to wife, Leslie Beals.
Price LDS 4th Ward Activity Chair, Nancy Cammans, learned of this need through Leslie and with other ward members decided to take the money their ward usually spent on a fall dinner and use it to help out the kids in the orphanage.
The committee decided to collect slightly used and clean toys and then ship them to Iraq. The ward collected 11 moving boxes full and they were shipped in October.
For less than the cost of a complete dinner, this community provided all the children in both the male and female orphanages with a large variety and selection of toys.
The orphans in these institutions survive the cold with only coats they are given, paying no attention to details such as gender cloths. Boys are seen smiling and happy wearing pink and purple coats.
The photos also reveal children wearing sandals in very cold weather. The orphanage can only run the furnace for an hour a night, and then only if they have fuel.
Children from the Price 4th Ward, such as the Phillip children pictured above right, collected, cleaned and donated their fine toys for these children. They were so excited to hand over these toys and watch in pictures, the children holding and caring for the same toys.
The director for the orphanages expressed his gratitude and how fun it was to see these children smiling and delighted over owning these toys.
He also remarked that the smaller children usually go without anything when aid arrives; the larger children push them aside for fear of not receiving anything.
Enough toys were collected by the ward and the crowd of children were guided so that all children, large and small were able to receive these toys.
from Price, to Afghanistan, with love
