ISAF Forces Help Double School's Occupancy in Kandahar

ISAF Joint Command

07/12/2010  KABUL - Members of a U.S. Special Operations team delivered enough supplies and classroom furniture to outfit 90 students at an Afghan school in northern Kandahar province Thursday.

The school supplies, desks and chairs were delivered to a school in the Shah Wali Kot District as part of an ongoing civil affairs initiative to assist local Afghan citizens with security, governance and development.

The special operations team met earlier with the school principal, teachers and the village malik- an elder - to determine the school's needs. A U.S. Special Forces officer who led the

effort said Afghan teachers and U.S. service members worked together to set up the new desks and chairs to accommodate 90 students - nearly twice the school's current occupancy. Notebooks, writing utensils, chalk boards and chalk were also distributed.

"The efforts today should enable the school to continue to support the local children from several villages in the area," said the USSF officer.

The school has been operating for months under tents with students sitting on the ground in their classrooms. But with the new furniture, students now have a better learning environment.

"The teaching spaces are taking on the look of fully functioning classrooms," said the USSF officer. "People here are very grateful for the contributions."