“Colonel, we’ve found about three hundred orphans sleeping in the caves in the mountains,” an officer told Gessner. It was mid-December 2002, and Gessner’s unit was just about to redeploy and leave Bagram Air Base and the nearby orphanage in Afghanistan.
The Americans discovered the children while on a military mission in Bamian, the area of the caves. The aviation unit told Gessner that they were flying a mission to this area and wanted to bring along some relief supplies.
“So we made a shopping list of blankets, food, and coats,” recalled Gessner. “We estimated about two thousand dollars worth. The head of the aviation unit almost flipped when I pulled two thousand dollars from my pocket and handed it to him the last of the donations we had collected for the orphans.”
The materials were purchased in the capital city of Kabul, which was experiencing a rebirth at the time. “Once the Taliban and Al Qaeda departed, the city came alive again,” said Gessner. General Tommy Franks commented in his book about all of the city and street noise by saying it sounded like freedom. Restaurants, stores, and businesses began to reopen in the city.
A few weeks later, the helicopters flew to the mountains; it must have been close to Christmas time. When they landed, it was snowing. This year it must have seemed as though Santa’s sleigh had been traded in for a U.S. Army helicopter. From the back of the helicopter ramp, the soldiers began passing out coats and blankets to the kids.
The “elves” who were responsible for providing the gifts for these orphans and those in Charikar were citizens, schools, churches, organizations, and clubs hailing from Illinois, Wisconsin, Washington, D.C., and as far away as Germany. Those who donated for the cause of these Afghan orphans may never know the extent of the impact their gifts had on these children (and other Afghan adult observers). But the kids will very likely remember the Americans in uniform who put down their weapons to make their winters a little warmer and their bellies a little fuller.
Lord, keep me ever mindful of those less fortunate than I am, and show me how to defend them.
“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.” (Psalm 82:3)