For Ryan
All my kiddie shoes have been given away already, but if you still have yours, please read this.
A number of you have e-mailed me asking what I need here in Kabul. I thank you for your concern, but I actually want, or need, for very little. The weather here is a bit colder than I had expected, we still have snow here.
Kabul itself is about the size of Ottawa, and exhibits the scars of thirty years of warfare. Poverty is everywhere, and orphanages — one of the by-products of a war — are filled to capacity, and many of the kids in these institutions don’t have a pair of shoes.
If you have kids, or know someone who does, can you send me some used kids footwear — any size will do, from tots to teens. And while we’re at it, socks too!
You can forward these to me and I’ll make sure that they end up in the right hands — or should I say, on they right feet. I can be reached at the address below:
Sgt Topolinsky, D.J.
Engr Sqn
OP ATHENA, Camp Julien
PO Box 5006 Stn Forces
BELLEVILLE, ON K8N 5W6
Cheers, and thanks.
Eve said,
March 3, 2005 at 3:39 am
No problem. Any leads on where kids’ shoes can be found? And how do you get the shoes to him? I want to leave a note under this post about it.
Ryan said,
March 3, 2005 at 9:01 am
Cheers… thanks, Eve.
Ryan said,
March 7, 2005 at 8:20 am
If you mail the shoes to that address, they will be shipped to his camp in Afghanistan. And I’m planning to check out secondhand stores. Places like the March of Dimes, Value Village, Salvation Army, etc. I plan to tell them it’s for Afghani orphans, so maybe they’ll give me a better price.