Those of you that know me you will be aware that our son Arfon
has been in Helmand Afghanistan since the 6th June 2009 serving with The Rifles. Whilst my son is one of the fortunate
ones to have a family who send parcels and letters there are many young lads who are not quite so fortunate.
The conditions these guys are living in are pretty basic to say
the least, if anyone has seen Air Force Afghanistan filmed at Kandahar, this in comparison is the Ritz. Afghanistan is the
third poorest country in the World.
Most of the Rifles are living in small settlements, 10 men to a
tent, ration packs are provided but curry and stew can get slightly boring after a while, washing facilities are provided
by way of the local river as water is in short supply.
I'm collecting items to send out to those lads serving without families,
anything will be appreciated even letters. Most of the items I am sending are what we take for granted but due to their location
they are unable to replace these items. I fully support all the charities that offer assistance to wounded soldiers but my
aim is to help them now while they are on active duty.
Any of the items below will make a huge difference and will be gratefully
received,
Soap
Shower gel
Toothpaste
Roll on deodorant
Toothbrushes
Hand cleanser
Travel clothes wash
First aid items
Baby wipes
Cuppa soups
Sweets
Crisps
Chewing gum
Pringles
Biscuits
Super noodles
Small cartons of juice
Magazines
Playing cards
Puzzle books
Pens
Letters
No aerosols or chocolate (I sent cream eggs which exploded in transit!),
dairy or meat due to the heat,
When the post arrives the platoons gather and they sit together
to open and share everything with those that do not receive any mail, any post received from home is a real boost to morale.
Fortunately the government has scrapped the postage charge out to
Afghanistan so its free, I can send boxes no bigger than a shoebox which must weigh less than 2kg. These boxes will be sent
to Father Ted who is the Padre for the Rifles in Afghanistan, he will then ensure these parcels go to those that do not receive
any mail.
So far as a group we have managed to send over a 100 parcels
of care to our soldiers in Afghanistan, our parcels are "going down a storm" and those that have benefited have said "its
so good to know we have the support and care from those at home". As a group we differ from those other groups offering support,
we do not require the soldier or his family to register to get a parcel, our contacts are with those
in theatre dealing with the day to day welfare of our soldiers on the front line.
