The city of Rochester, New Hampshire, USA is coming together to help build a 10 room school on the other side of the world. Sergeant Major David R. Stevens, who has a long record of public service here in Rochester, including many years on the Rochester City Council, and who has thousands of friends here, is currently in military service in Afghanistan. David has asked his hometown to help him with a project he is very excited about:

 

“This project supports the guidelines set forth in the Afghan National Development Strategy. The village in the Balkh province in Northern Afghanistan has no school for over 1200 children that are from four villages in the surrounding area.  Children currently attend school in several locations in areas outside or in some rooms of a mosque.  According to testimonies from village elders and teachers, some families have children that do not attend school because of a lack of facility.

 

This project is being funded through The Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP), which is designed to enable the military to respond to urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction requirements by carrying out programs that immediately assist the Afghan people.

 

My actual assignment is an Embedded Team Trainer. As a Sergeant Major I mentor, train and perform missions with an Afghan Army Battalion.  I have volunteered to take on this project to build the school, as an additional duty, because I see a real need to help the people and children in this area.  I am the Project Manager and Project Purchasing Officer and I will manager and oversee all phases of this project from start to finish.  Construction will be done by Afghanistan workers.  I am very excited about this project and I believe building this school will make a huge difference to the children and people in those villages.  I have always been a strong advocate of children and education.

 

 The people in the village where we are building the school are very appreciative and excited to get a school for their children.   Being able to actually learn inside a classroom verses outside with no desks, chairs or blackboards and temperatures exceeding 100 degrees is a tremendous step forward.  Also, with the new school, it is expected more children will attend school.  The school will be for both boys and girls with different sessions throughout the day.

 

I came up with the idea of providing school supplies and backpacks, because the children there don’t have any school supplies.  If we can make this possible, which I know the citizens, community organizations and business of Rochester and the greater area can do, it would make a memorable impression on the children and provide them with essential supplies.  The people are poor here and live under some harsh conditions and anything we can do to assist the children in their education will make a huge difference in their lives and future.”

 

 

 

Any questions about this website, contact Walter Hoerman MD at whoerman@metrocast.net