Day Sixty-seven; Story City, Iowa

You know, there is something about Iowa that I just love. From its quaint little towns and picturesque, rolling farmlands, to its quirky festivals (the Ackley Sauerkraut Festival, the Pella Tulip Festival, the Britt Hobo Festival), I guess Iowa is just about as wholesome-middle-America as you can get.

Today, however, what I love most about Iowa is that it is right next to Minnesota…which means we are almost home. One week to go!

At the moment, I am hanging out in an RV park north of Ames waiting for Gunnar’s call from the road while catching up on my blog and trying to decide whether or not to make another pot of coffee. (Keeping my caffeine momentum going during the home stretch is essential.) I am also struggling to concentrate on typing because there is some kid outside my window playing with one of those annoying remote control cars, and the incessant high-pitched buzzing sound is getting on my last nerve. I’m afraid that if I get any more jacked up on coffee I will go out and smash the little car to pieces with my curling iron in a fit of rage.

On second thought, I think it’s time to get the Folger’s brewing.


Thursday, September 3, 2009 Des Moines, IA

Today was a special day for us as we were invited to make our ASM4P presentation for some kids in the pediatric ward at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. Very cool!

While the kids there were a bit younger than most kids we meet with, the hospital staff and parents really appreciated Gunnar and I coming by to spend time with them, and let them draw pictures to bring to the Iraqi and Afghani kids. It was also the first time that we got to talk with parents about WKR’s mission and why it is vital to help our kids in these countries build peaceful relationships with one another.

They greatly appreciated what ASM4P is about, and I appreciate them for appreciating us.

Right after we left the hospital, we stopped by the WHO radio station in Des Moines to do an interview with Jan Mickelson, the morning radio show host. We talked with him as well about the walk and the importance of our programs, however, it didn’t take long for him to steer the conversation down a political path and bait Gunnar into a discussion on whether or not we “won the war” in Iraq or not…. and whether or not the “blood of our soldier’s was spilled needlessly.”

Gotta love those shock jocks.

http://cdn1.libsyn.com/mickelson/mickelson-2009-09-03.mp3?nvb=20090904231942&nva=20090905232942&t=0813e240333f141fcfceafcfcea

Although Gunnar wasn’t interested in sensationalizing the topic for listeners, it reminded me again how complex the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan really are despite how people want to simplify them. Lately, I have been reading the “Ask John Burns; At War” blog written by New York Times foreign correspondent, John Burns. He discusses his own ideas on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and accepts readers’ comments/questions as well (http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/ask-john-burns/?scp=1&sq=ask+john+burns&st=cse&apage=1#comments).

Out of the hundreds of comments I have read so far, it’s evident that many Americans are burned out on the war and feel things are hopeless. Sadly, this hopelessness has lead towards disengagement from the topic altogether. Gunnar and I agree we have seen plenty of evidence of that out here on the road. While they may support the spirit of ASM4P, talking about our programs aimed at helping children often falls on deaf ears. In fact, one man in particular wondered why we cared about the kids in Iraq and Afghanistan at all, and then suggested the US just bomb the entire region until nothing is left standing.

There. That’ll fix it.

Unlike wars in the past, these just aren’t situations where either we win or we lose. In fact, they aren’t even situations where if things are going badly that we can simply cut our losses and quit the game. The truth is that with the security of the world at stake, we are a part of a game that we can’t really ever get away from…whether we want to play or not. The world we live in is getting smaller every day, and borders between countries will never be secure enough, airport security will never be tight enough, and we can never build walls high enough to keep out the terrorists who seek to do us harm.

Unfortunately, turning our backs and saying “we can’t win so we don’t want to try anymore” isn’t really an option. That would be like giving up on fighting crime in a gang-infested neighborhood in the US because we don’t think we can stop it. Everyone knows that giving up and walking away would only make things worse—fast. What we need are new ideas and energy to address the problem from the inside out.

After 9+ weeks, we believe more than ever that one of the most important things we as Americans can do is begin a systemic peace-building effort. An effort that begins with helping the kids on both sides see new options for their lives, helping them see their would-be adversaries in a new light, and giving them the opportunities to help rebuild their communities from the grass roots level up.

Will it take time?

Yep.

Will it take patience?

Yep.

Will it take an open mind, a united front, and a focus on one small success at a time? Yep, yep, yep.

The thing is, while the task may feel overwhelming, new possibilities fueled with new energy not only can change the world…it’s the only thing that ever has. War Kids Relief is here to provide the possibilities if the kids will provide the energy for the fuel. But most importantly, we need America to believe in us, to not turns their backs on the problem, and most of all, to not give up hope.


Monday, August 31, Knoxville, IA

Yesterday, Gunnar and I arrived in Knoxville, Iowa with not a single thing on our agenda. No kids to meet with, no reporters to meet with...nothing to do but just chill and enjoy a quiet day in a small Iowa town. That is, until we met Rick, the owner of the local RV Park, and self-appointed ASM4P public relations director for the greater Knoxville area.

Just like every other place we have stayed, we pulled in to the park, registered with the owner, and told the story of ASM4P. Most of the time when people hear about ASM4P they say “oh, how nice, that’ll be $20, please.” Some of the time, they offer to let us stay for free as a contribution to ASM4P. But this is the first time that the owner immediately got on the phone and called a reporter from the local paper to come out and do a story on Gunnar. I confess that I have been slacking a bit this weekend on the PR, but Rick really put me to shame.

And that was just the beginning.

Within one hour of our arrival the reporter had already come by our RV to get the story. That evening, Rick invited us to attend the local Sprint Car Races (apparently, Knoxville is home to the Sprint Car Hall of Fame and race track) where he had arranged for the announcer to honor Gunnar and ASM4P over the loudspeaker for the cheering crowd. And by this morning, Rick had lined up a radio interview at the local radio station, as well as an interview with a local magazine reporter. Check out our radio interview at: http://lightningstream.surfernetwork.com/Media/player/view/knia23.asp?call=knia2&file=indepthwed.wma&title=KNIA2 RAMP&skin=KNIA2

Rick is now my BFF of all time for doing my job for me for a couple days! Thanks, Rick...I'll get back to work now. :)

***

So everyone…we have one week to go. If, after reading nine weeks of my rambling blogs, you agree that this effort is worthwhile, here is what you need to do:

1. Believe it. Don’t assume that avoiding this issue will make it go away, or that it will only affect people in some far-flung region of the world. We are all interconnected and, eventually, it will affect us right here at home.

2. Do your part. Don’t assume that everyone else is doing the donating. Make the minimum donation of 1 penny per mile-- that’s only $10! This fundraiser was designed financially to give everyone the chance to be a part of the solution. You could dig that amount out of your couch cushions and your car ashtray right now!

3. Spread the word. Forward this message to even one other person and help them understand that this is something we can all do. And tell them not to give up hope either!


Thanks for your support everyone!!

Love, Dina

Will you help us help the kids?

Day Fifty-eight; Kirksville, Missouri

Right now we are in northern Missouri headed for the Iowa border. The dog days of summer are upon us and the rolling hills and lush green landscape reminds me that we will soon be home.

Ahhh. Home.

Today marks exactly eight weeks since we left Minnesota and all morning I have been thinking about how Gunnar’s and my lives have evolved during the course of this adventure. Gunnar has come a long way…and not just because of the 700+ miles he has walked so far. He's actually less tired, more Zen-like and even the wild barking dogs don’t seem to scare him anymore. Rabid, yellow-eyed, foaming at the mouth pooches now see him coming and roll over for a scratch.

Gunnar has become the dog whisperer.

I, on the other hand, feel like I have been trapped in a major fog that I can’t seem to shake. I have little energy, an attention span of 20-second intervals and even simple questions like where are you? and what day is it? seem to leave me perplexed. My appetite has also increased at an alarming rate. For lunch I had a cheeseburger, French fries, a chocolate shake and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Yikes. I think this is because while Gunnar is out exercising every day, I still spend most of my time in the RV suffering from the advanced stages of RVES…recreational vehicle entrapment syndrome. Here is a breakdown of how the symptoms develop:

Week One- Intrigue; curiosity about the many working parts of the RV and the novelty of the experience distracts from your physical confines. No evident problems yet.

Week Two- Confusion; inability to adapt to confined surroundings leads to stubbed toes and bruised shins. Some physical trauma experienced.

Week Three- Anxiety; lack of personal space leads to irrational behavior and fight-picking for no real reason. Some emotional trauma experienced.

Week Four- Claustrophobia; intense need for shopping and spa services leads to escape attempts no matter how high the price. Finances may be in jeopardy due to impaired judgment.

Week Five- Denial; inability to accept physical limitations may lead you to believe that you can actually cook a five-course meal in an RV kitchen, which takes many hours as the shoe-box sized RV ovens only fit one pan at a time.

Week Six- Despair; you begin to feel like you are in the sequel to Groundhog Day.

Week Seven- Apathy; personal grooming starts to suffer as seven weeks of the same boring t-shirts and shorts makes getting dressed seem like a bother. Makeup and hair care begins to seem like a waste of time as well.

Week Eight- Disorientation; inability to concentrate, read maps, follow directions or understand spoken English makes it hard to carry out simple orders (like knowing what road you are supposed to pick someone up on).

Two weeks to go. I will let you know how the symptoms progress.

***

Sunday, August 23, 2009 Pershing State Park

Some time before noon we pulled in to the Pershing State Park in northern Missouri to set up residence until the next morning. The state park vs. RV park is always a challenging tradeoff. While there is no question that state parks offer abundant scenery, they lack water and sewer hookups, which means you can’t wash anything (hand, dishes, etc) and you have to carry a lantern to the outhouse for late-night potty breaks. Ugh.

Anyway, it was a picture-perfect day in the park and the temperature was ideal so I dug out my lawn chair and a glass of wine, set up camp up under an old oak tree and spent the next ten hours glued to a fantastic new book, Coppola: A Pediatric Surgeon in Iraq. It’s written by Dr. Chris Coppola, an Air Force veteran who served two tours in Iraq working at a military trauma hospital at Balad Air Base. His story is a powerful first-hand account of the toll the Iraq war has taken on the medical professionals, troops, as well as the many civilians and children caught in the crossfire. In fact, it was so good that ordinarily I would tell you to stop what you are doing and immediately run out to get a copy but, unfortunately, you’ll have to wait. This was an advanced reader’s copy as the official book won’t be out until November.

The story is, several months ago, Gunnar and I had the good fortune to be contacted by Chris’s publisher (NTI Upstream) asking if we would be interested in doing some cross-promotional partnering as their publicity campaign ramps up. In addition to telling his already compelling story, it was important to Chris that the book introduce readers to non-profit organizations that share his values in support of military, healthcare and children…and he picked War Kids Relief as one of the charities he wanted to support.

NTI Upstream sent us the advanced copies and Gunnar wrote a rave review to them use in their marketing efforts. I will let you know when the book does finally hit the shelves so you can drop everything you’re doing and immediately run out to go get a copy…but for now here are a couple of my favorite passages:

“Two ER techs wearing protective eyewear and sound-dampening headsets roll the patient in on a NATO gurney. They are trailed by a medic clad in a flight suit, body armor, aircrew helmet with ear protection, heavy visor, and night vision goggles. The techs wheel the patient into the trauma bay and flip the legs out on the gurney to support the head and feet of the litter. I move in and look down at the patient lying on the stretcher. It is a child that looks to be about two years old. I had expected to see a soldier or at least an adult, and the sight of a child is jarring. I can’t tell yet if this chubby-faced child is a boy or a girl. The medic tells us he is a boy who was shot in the head about forty-five minutes prior and needed to be intubated in the field. He has been stable in the helicopter, but hasn’t moved his limbs or opened his eyes. I ask the medic if he knows how this baby was shot, but he only answers, “crossfire at a checkpoint.” Streaks of dried blood trail down the boy’s hair over his bruised right eye. There are small petechia (broken blood vessels) across his forehead and the bridge of his nose. His face is so puffy it is hard for me to open his eyes, and below them a clear plastic endotracheal tube leads into his throat, the shoebox-sized transport ventilator puffing breaths into his lungs at regular intervals.”

***

“The children in Iraq are living, playing and walking to school on the same streets in which our troops are searching for insurgents who would seek to do them harm. These children, and essentially all civilians across Iraq, are constantly vulnerable to random and devastating violence. War used to be conducted between two armies squaring off, rank and file, in a desolate field or in a network of trenches. Today, war happens street-to-street and door-to-door in areas of dense urban population. Civilians, including children, are far more likely to be victims of war than military combatants themselves.”

(To learn more about him you can check out http://www.coppolathebook.blogspot.com/. The guy knows what he is talking about.)

In the book, Chris also mentions his discomfort in being referred to as a hero, which reminds me of how Gunnar has described that term as well. Well, whether they like it or not, I believe that's exactly what they are. These veterans are all heroes to me. Also, as the mom of two girls with special medical needs, I would also put pediatric surgeons in the hero category as well. (Sorry, Chris!)

***

August 21-22, 2009

Because we are getting closer to home, my husband Brad and the girls came down for the weekend to visit! It was great to see them and hang out for a couple days being a family again.

And Daisy and Coco also had a chance to climb on their buddy, Gunnar…one of their all-time favorite things!

He may not admit it, but deep down I think he likes it, too.

***

August 21, 2009, Chillicothe, Missouri

We had a session with about a dozen kids at the Chillicothe YMCA today. With the letters we collected we have just surpassed 2,500 letters.

No matter how the fundraising efforts ends up, just knowing that this many young Americans now have an understanding of what their peers suffering from war are dealing with, and have compassionately reached out to them, Gunnar and I will always believe that this 10-week event was nothing short of a huge success.

***

August, 20, 2009, Cameron, Missouri

Today we arrived in Cameron, Missouri for an action-packed day. At noon we made a presentation at the local Optimist’s Club, and that afternoon we met with about 30 kids at the Cameron YMCA. The kids were adorable, as always, and even helped us carry out our photo boards to the RV when we were done.

Nothing like cute little roadies to lend a helping hand!

That evening we stopped at the local RV-park. The good news is that what they lacked in atmosphere, they made up for with noise from the interstate.

The adventure continues…stay tuned!

Love, Dina

Day Forty-eight; Kansas City, Missouri

The other day I made a comment about how lucky we were that we haven't had any rainy days slowing us down.

I should have known that would just be tempting fate.

Right now it is 11:20am and I am still in my pajamas working from my bed in the RV, also known as my "office." It is been absolutely pouring rain for the last two days--so hard that the sound of rain beating down on top of the metal RV roof is so loud I can barely hear myself think. I see no point in even bothering to get dressed.

Currently, we are in between YMCA sessions while the summer camps switch over to the after school camps, and with the rain there is nothing Gunnar and I can do other than hang out in the RV, work and try not to drive each other nuts. Ordinarily, he would be out walking and I'd have the place to myself, so with both of us trapped in the RV it is even more claustrophobic than usual. In fact, the only thing keeping us sane (and out of each other's way) is me watching chick flicks in my little room while he reads his body-builder magazines in his bunk. Luckily, I stocked up before I left Minnesota so I have an adequate supply of DVDs on hand so Gunnar and I shouldn't be crossing paths for hours.

Yesterday I watched Before Sunrise and A Little Romance. Today looks like a Shakespeare in Love kind of day.

We'll see.

August 13, 2009

Gunnar set out early this morning from the RV park in Bonner Springs heading towards Kansas City. Around noon I caught up with him up at our destination for the day: a trailer park west of the city.

With no YMCA session today, we decided to take our time and run a few errands before hooking up. I was hoping to find some fun stores to check out, however, driving down State Street was pretty disappointing as all I saw were pawn shops, laundromats, check cashing outlets, a billboard advertising a big gun show and a few motels that look like they rent by the hour. Not even a latte or a donut shop in sight.

Our best shopping option looked like a WalMart so we cruised in to stock up on milk and few other staples. After we got our stuff, we headed into the checkout line and Gunnar unloaded the cart while I quickly perused the tabloids to get the latest scoop on the Jon & Kate Plus 8 debacle, as well as other important celebrity news.

I was just reading a breaking news story about who Jessica Simpson is dating when I heard a woman's voice say "you with him, hon?"

I looked up to see the WalMart clerk addressing me as she was bagging the milk. "Excuse me?" I said, not really understanding the question.

"I said are you with this fiiinnne lookin' thing?" she said in a slow southern drawl, nodding her head towards Gunnar and pretty much undressing him with her eyes. (I think she was just being friendly, although her prison-warden stature and missing front teeth were somewhat intimidating.)

"Me? With him? Umm.....sure?" I answered.

"Well those muscles sure are niiice to look at. Ah'm thinkin' ah'd like me some of that, mmmm...mmmmm," she said shaking her head and looking like she's ready to have him for lunch. "I better not even tell you what I'm thinkin' right now."

I did a mental grimace, while Gunnar lost all color his face and swallowed hard. "Yep, lucky me," I said. "Well, gotta go now!" I added while grabbing our milk and quickly steering Gunnar towards the door by his elbow.

Don't worry, Gunn...I've got your back. What are partners for, right?

***

We climbed back in the RV and headed to the trailer park that would be our home for the next 12 hours or so.

If there were a prize for the absolute scariest trailer park we've visited so far on this trip, this one would win hands down. As we pulled in through the front gate, all I could see were dozens of ramshackle trailers, growling guard dogs ready to rip us limb from limb, and a creepy ice cream truck (that I'm pretty sure wasn't selling ice cream) slowly circling the neighborhood.

Welcome to "Deliverance RV and Trailer Park."

Gunnar was aprehensive about staying there and worried about my safety after he left in the morning, but I reminded him that I lived in New York for three years. I can handle anything. So we parked the RV out front and walked up to the office to register. Two big dogs were chained up to the left of the sidewalk. One was sleeping while the other was on duty barking at us and yanking at his chain so hard I thought he might break his neck.

Nice doggy.

We walked inside the office and were greeted by a woman at the desk with a three-pack-a-day voice and and ashtray full of cigarette butts. She filled out all the necessary registration information with her right hand, while her left hand held a burning cigarette with an ash at least an inch long. Then she ran down the list of usual questions about our RV (how many feet, what amp hookup, etc), but Gunnar had to do the talking for us because all I could focus on was her cigarette moving about, and how much longer that ash could hold on. It was mesmerizing.

After we paid, we left the office and went down to our space to hook up but Gunnar still wasn't sure we should stay. We were standing there discussing moving somewhere else when one of the neighbors wandered over towards us. He was pretty disheveled and looked like he didn't own a razor, or soap...or a toothbrush. I was prepared to just hand over my purse without a fight when he asked "ain't you that veteran who's walkin' to help kids in Iraq? I saw ya on the news and I think that's just great! Need some help?"

Wow! Gunnar and I both exhaled in unison, relieved that we were, in fact, among friends. Just then the woman who checked us in came down to our spot and joined us. She realized that she had seen Gunnar on the Kansas City news as well and wanted to give us our money back as their contribution to ASM4P.

By this time I was feeling pretty ashamed of myself for judging these folks. The fact that they obviously had very little but still wanted to contribute what they could was a great reminder about why our work is so important.

It also reminded me of a conversation I had back in Minnesota a couple months ago with a wealthy acquaintance of mine. She was concerned that with the bad economy and so many charities going under that nobody would donate to ASM4P; apparently, the rich are too busy worrying about losing their yachts and investments, the middle class is busy trying to find jobs, and the poor can barely feed themselves. According to her, this country was an economic mess and nobody was going to give anything. Period.

I disagreed.

Later that same day I was listening to another discussion on the troop surge in Afghanistan and how we are never going to defeat the Taliban without losing many more American soldiers in the process. "If only we could do something," they said.

"Somebody needs to do something."

Well, reflecting on the last seven weeks of traveling through this country I don't believe that anything is hopeless, and I know that people are doing something. They are donating to ASM4P. And even though we are in difficult economic times, in city after city, I have found that the people who have been the most enthusiastic to donate are often the people who can afford it the least:

retired people...

waitresses in diners...

RV park managers...

a guy who recognized Gunnar on the road

...and even children at the YMCA camps have donated to ASM4P.

They are all Americans, too, and not only do they want to do something...they are doing something.

They know their donations aren't much and won't single handedly fix everything, but it's not about how much. It's about collectively being a part of something larger than themselves for a cause that affects all of us; every single American, whether they are old or young, rich or poor, working, laid off or retired...living in a gated community on a golf course or in a scary trailer park. And they know that.

In just a few weeks Gunnar will finish walking and another 9/11 anniversary will be upon us. Most of us Americans will be thinking back on where we were eight years ago. Many will be wondering whether the world has become any safer from terrorism. Some will be wondering what, if anything, they could do to help.

Well, our War Kids Relief programs were designed with one goal in mind: to keep things like 9/11 from ever happening again...and ASM4P was designed as a way for everyone to help. Those who have made donations to ASM4P have done something significant, and I thank each and every one of you for believing that together we can do this.

Every one of your dollars will go towards our projects that will prevent another generation from getting caught up in the violence that leads to attacks like 9/11. And if we don't raise all the money we need to launch these projects during this 10-week walk, then we will keep fundraising until we do.

It's that important.

***

Right now, Gunnar's out on a road somewhere walking to inspire the rest of us to support ASM4P, so that one day this little girl in Oklahoma who donated a dollar with her letter can proudly say "my dollar made the world a safer place. I did something."

Only three weeks to go...keep the faith!

Love, Dina

Will you help us help the kids?

Day Forty-one; Clinton Hill, Kansas

The countdown has begun...and in just one month from today we should be rolling in to Northfield, Minnesota!

This is exciting not only because then Gunnar can rest after walking 1,000-miles and I can get back home to my family...but I can also finally reunite with my beloved Andrea, the woman who does my hair. After six weeks on the road, my roots are already so overdue for a foil, it's scary.

What is most exciting, however, is if we can inspire enough people to donate to ASM4P in these final weeks, we will be able to get our War Kids Relief programs off the ground...which is the point of everything.

***

Yesterday, Gunnar, the media darling, was interviewed at a gas station outside Perry, Kansas when the Kansas City, Missouri Fox-4 crew caught up with him to get the story for their nightly news (check out http://www.fox4kc.com/wdaf-war-vet-walking-080909,0,5864603.story). As Gunnar, the reporter and the cameraman were all outside in the stiffling mid-day heat, I was still working away inside the RV trying to drum up even more press.

So far our crew has done a great job getting publicity! Just a couple days ago, the Topeka Capital-Journal ran a nice story about ASM4P
(Topeka Capital-Journal, August 2009), and in the past five weeks we have racked up lots of news articles and TV clips, we have gained over 2,300 fans on our Facebook page and our Twitter page is filled with tweets and re-tweets. (Actually, I'm not even really sure what that means, but I just know it's good.)

Overall, people really love what ASM4P is about, and there seems to be no question that Gunnar and I are passionate about helping war kids. There is also no question about the sacrifices we are willing to make...no question that we have an awesome website and video...and no question that we are surrounded by an incredibly talented team of people helping make all this happen.

And I think by now there is also no question that Gunnar and I are two major goofballs...but there does seem to be one big question that is still on people's minds:

What exactly are you guys raising this money for?

It seems that somewhere in all the hype and excitement of ASM4P, the actual programs have gotten a little overshadowed. Of course, everyone knows that we are raising money to help children affected by war, but people wonder how will we help them, and what exactly do we need the money for? Even though it's all outlined on the website I realize people don't have time to read through a lot of copy, so I've decided to dedicate this blog to filling in the details.

Ready? Here we go...

Okay, so you know how it seems every time you read the news about Iraq there is yet another depressing story about how insurgent groups keep blowing stuff up...a mosque, a marketplace, a police checkpoint...and you just wonder when all this craziness will ever end? And then you read about how we are trying to get our troops home, but as long as these insurgencies are thriving, the troops are still needed to provide the security necessary to prevent everything from backsliding. And if everything backslides, then we'll never be able to stop worrying about that region...whether the troops ever come home or not.

The thing is, in order for these insurgencies to thrive they need to continue to increase their ranks by finding new recruits. Most people know that planting roadside bombs isn't nice, so the bad guys like to go after the ones easiest to brainwash and control...and the easiest prey are the kids. Not just any kids though, they go after kids who are disengaged, depressed and vulnerable. In the same way the Bloods, the Crypts and every other self-respecting gangs in the U.S. build their forces, children are manipulated into joining these insurgencies. Because there is so much chaos going on in Iraq, parents don't always have the means to keep these kids out of harms way, and so it's easy-pickins for the bad guys.

(If you want to read an amazing book on this subject, pick up a copy of One Day the Soldier's Came; Voices of Children in War by Charles London. He's a friend of mine who spent years researching the effects of war on children. It's a fabulous read.)

So, getting back to my story...there is this Iraqi nonprofit called Bustan, run by my friend Ayoub Allain, that has spent the last six years creating programs to prevent Iraqi kids from getting caught up in the cycles of violence. So far they have made great progress helping kids from different backgrounds all across Iraq get to know one another, learn to respect one another and actually become friends with one another. This is the ultimate violence prevention, because nobody ever wants to go to war with a friend.

But it's tough for one little organization to do so much...especially when they are dealing with kids who have been traumatized by six years of war. Spending a majority of their lives witnessing explosions, killings and kidnappings--or, worse yet, being one of the children involved in the bombings and killings--leads to plenty of post traumatic stress. So, we at War Kids Relief decided that if we could raise enough money, we wanted to help Bustan establish a youth center where these traumatized kids can go to; a place where they can get the professional counselling they need, and to learn new job skills so they can make money without being tempted to join insurgencies looking to exploit cheap labor.

So if we can prevent the insurgents from growing their ranks, then eventually the U.S. troops won't have anyone left to battle against, so they can finally come home, and the next thing you know-- world peace! (Don't you just love it when it all comes together?)

ASM4P's fundraising goal is to be able to open a Youth Rehabilitation and Job Skills Center for sixty children (the first year) in Mosul, Iraq. The plans are all drawn up and the budget is in place, however, we believe that for this program to be sustainable, Bustan needs to have some skin in the game, so we agreed to raise $179,000 on our end and Ayoub will find matching funds on his end.

Broken down into what each donor's dollars will do on a per child/per month basis:

- for $15 you can help us maintain the rehabilitation center which will function as a safety harbor for children, to spend time away from destruction and war
- for $45 you can do all of the above AND help the children transported there safely
- for $60 you can do all of the above AND offer these children psychosocial support to help them cope with war trauma
- for $85 you can do either one of two things:
- all of the above AND have one child finish an entire curriculum module, including learning practical job skills and getting professionalism training -OR- assist in the building process of the rehabilitation center
- for $165 you have saved one child from forced participation in terrorism

***

Now, moving on to Afghanistan...you know how you read in the news that more and more American troops are being deployed there? And even though we thought the U.S. invasion after September 11, 2001 got rid of the Taliban, they somehow still continue to thrive and terrorize and behead people and intimidate people from voting and generally wreak havoc on the whole country? And sometimes you just want to shake your head and think man is this hopeless or what? Well, there is no doubt that the world has a collossal mess on our hands and it's going to continue affecting the safety of the all of us until we get this under control...whether we are forced to strip all the way down to our undies in the airport security lines or not.

Unfortunately, no matter how many troops we send there to deal with this, until the Afghani people can strengthen their own communities (through education and economics) they will never be strong enough to resist the Taliban's force. Like bullies everywhere, the Taliban preys upon the most vulnerable...and after nearly 30 years of war, the Afghans are about as exhausted and vulnerable as they come.

(BTW-If you want to see a great movie that shows how the Taliban took root in Afghanistan, watch "Charlie Wilson's War" with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. The sad-but-true story about what happens when the U.S. relies too much on military solutions without providing proper infrastructure. Our bad.)

Anyone who has ever read Three Cups of Tea (is there anyone out there who hasn't?) knows that schools in Afghanistan are desperately needed, but the problem is that the Afghan economy stinks so bad that after the kids graduate they still can't find any jobs to feed their families....so they remain vulnerable to the Taliban who is right there waiting to exploit them. Ninety percent of the world's heroin comes from the poppy fields of Afghanistan because the Taliban pays the poor farmers to grow it, and then uses the revenues to fund their evil deeds. The icing on an already messed up cake is that since these communities can't protect themselves, many of the schools that were built for the children have been taken over by Taliban to use as their headquarters! The Afghan people desperately need to strengthen their communities economically from the inside so they don't have to sell out to the bad guys.

Now, by this point, you may be asking yourself how the hell does Dina know this? Well, let me tell you about my friend Santwana...

Santwana Dasgupta, a fellow Minnesotan by way of India, is the executive director of Partnership for the Education of Children in Afghanistan (P.E.C.A.), the nonprofit org that we are working with to establish a vocational training program in Khost, Afghanistan, using donations from ASM4P.

P.E.C.A. has not only been building schools for the past ten years, but they have been getting whole villages on their feet as well. During the process of their work, they recently discovered that economic strength within the Afghan communities is the most effective prevention of Taliban interference. (It's that 'bully theory' again.) Working with the Afghan ministries of education, agriculture and rural development, they have done extensive research on exactly what kinds of small businesses/industries would be viable. From there they have designed after-school vocational programs that will train students to become the entrepreneurs needed to get these industries off the ground. The goal is that by the time the students graduate, they will hit the ground running, be able to support themselves and also co-invest a percentage of income back to the school to sustain it for the long run.

Not only is Santwana the brilliant leader of all this, but she is a woman so dedicated to the cause that she actually convinced her husband to agree to let her move to Kabul, Afghanistan by herself for two years just to get this program going!

Note to my husband, Brad: Honey, maybe you and Santwana's husband should go hang out some time. After a few hours with him, the thought of being talked into 10 weeks of single parenthood so your wife can go fund raise in an RV might not seem so crazy anymore.

Getting back to my story...War Kids Relief is partnering with P.E.C.A. to help fund the beginning of this vocational program in order to get 150 male and female students through one year of training. In an arrangement similar to the Iraqi Youth Center, War Kids Relief will fund $130,000 of this project with P.E.C.A. matching funds as well.

The breakdown of donations is as follows:

- for $35 you can help to maintain our vocational center
- for $65 you can help one student finish a vocational skills class
- for $100 you have helped one student to open a small business which will benefit the student him/herself, their family and the local community


So those are the two biggest WKR projects Gunnar is walking 1,000 miles to support. The other projects we are creating will help American kids (like all these Topeka YMCA kids in these photos) continue to communicate with and learn from their peers in Iraq and Afghanistan, so they won't grow up in fear of the outside world, and instead, realize that we can all be friends.

I hope that sharing the details of our programs in this blog will help people become even more compelled to support our ASM4P fundraising efforts. I know that this isn't the year people want to be asked to give money, but we really are all linked together on this planet, and the world needs us.

The kids holding this car wash are doing their part...just like every kid who posted a project on our ASM4P site (www.warkidsrelief.org/march/share). Even if it's as little as sponsoring Gunnar one penny/mile, I believe that if we stick together we can do anything.

So if you are inspired by what you've just read, please donate what you can, and forward this blog to help me spread the word.


We've got 3o days left to make the magic happen!

Thanks to you all...


Love,
Dina

Will you help us help the kids?

Day Thirty-six; Paxico, Kansas

Today is an auspicious day...and the world is changing.

I can feel it.

At this moment, I am in the middle of an RV park, in the middle of a cornfield, in the middle of Kansas, in the middle of the United States...and it is exactly the middle of our 10-week ASM4P fundraising adventure. That's right. Five weeks to the day!

And if all those coincidences weren't exciting enough, I discovered that only a mile down the dirt road from our RV park--in the middle of absolutely nowhere--is a winery! Would you believe that someone converted an old gas station outside of Paxico, Kansas into a winery? If that isn't a sign that things are headed in the right direction, then I don't know what is.

By4:00pm this afternoon, I finally detached myself from my computer, put my walking shoes on and ventured down the road for a tasting. It was a beautiful afternoon here in Kansas. Clear blue skies and nothing but the tassels on the corn as far as the eye can see. As I walked along the side of the road, I reflected on the adventures Gunnar and I have shared over the past five weeks on the road...at times under some rather stressful conditions.

We've endured scorching summer heat, rabid dogs and daily RV showers in freezing cold water. There have been hundreds of miles walked, dozens of youth sessions conducted and thousands of letters written. There has been homesickness, claustrohobia, cops and cowboy boots. There has been exhaustion, tears, arguements, slamming RV doors, "what is your problem?", icy glares and cold shoulders, misunderstandings, audible sighs, talking it out till the bitter end, apologies and hugs. There have been mornings we could barely drag ourselves out of bed, nights where we couldn't find a DVD to agree on ("When Harry Met Sally" vs. "Jarhead") and weeks on end without a single donation.

Why are we doing this has crossed both our minds more than a few times, but we both already knew the answer.

As the Kansas farmers will tell you: seeds need time to grow.

So the ASM4P seeds have been planted and fertilized with love and good energy, and I'm happy to say that the signs of hope are finally begining to sprout. The donations are slowly but surely building, kids projects are growing on the website wall every day...more lemonade is selling...more car washes are popping up...and a few other amazing things happened just this week:

1. Leigh Langehough, a highly talented teenage videographer, posted her self-made video about ASM4P on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw0zgi14Pgw. If you want to see the power of youth impacting the world, watch this 5 minute video. This girl is incredible!

2. Dan Hueblein, a highly talented musician, has organized the first "Welcome Back, Gunnar" fundraiser concert and posted the invite details on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=108331549227 Come for the live music, food and celebration!

3. Erin Kennedy, a highly talented mother-of-two, and her daughters finished their three-day walk to raise funds for ASM4P. Fifty-eight miles from New Hampshire to Boston...here is the last part of her blog from the adventure:

Greetings,

We finished the trek to Boston last night and are safe, although less sound than I would like. Turns out its just me with the less than sound body, but the girls are fine.

We didn't have internet access the second night so I wasn't able to update you, but nothing coherent would have resulted anyway. I am truly amazed at the toll this amount of walking puts on the body. I knew that I could finish, but had no idea how difficult it would be. It's the most physically strenuous thing I have ever done.

The best part of the trip was the bonding that resulted. Stressful conditions can easily cause a shift in how we deal with each other. I was so happy that Kathleen and Allison became closer, sharing the burden of carrying backpacks and encouraging one another. At the end of the second day of walking, they teamed up against me. I kept saying we would reach the hotel in a few minutes, then 10 minutes would pass. They would ask again, and I would say another 10 minutes. Then 20 minutes would pass. They kept checking the phone to watch the time. They knew I had no idea when we would get to the hotel. And the plot to hijack control began.

Word to the wise, don't make up arrival times just to get the kids to be quiet, unless they are under the age of 6.

But after a good night's sleep, everything was fine.

The third day of walking was surprisingly the best. As we got closer to Boston, we walked through neighborhoods with lots of trees and lakes. We spent some time laying in the grass by a lake in Wakefield, which was beautiful. The girls picked out a house overlooking the lake with a Spanish-style stucco design. It wasn't for sale, but both girls decided when they grew up, that is where they wanted to live.

I will be in touch later on today about sponsoring and the best way to send money. Just wanted to update you on the walk, and let you know we are home safely.

Many thanks for your kind support.

Erin

***

So, remember this day, folks: August 5, 2009. The world is no longer the same place that it was yesterday. People are really understanding why this project is important. They see how our children are all connected. How helping a child in Iraq, also helps our children here at home. They know that by working together we can all discover our roles in shaping our future...by doing what we can...by doing what we love...and creating beautiful memories in the process.

As I sampled the local elderberry wine, I made a special toast: To ASM4P...this project will work. Yes, it will. Gunnar is walking, and the world is changing.

Can't you feel it, too?

:)

Dina

Will you help us help the kids?

Day Thirty-three; Milford, Kansas

Man, I love my friends!

Recently, I have been asking all my friends with kids to do some projects that I can post on the ASM4P website wall to inspire others to follow. In just a couple weeks many of my fabulous mom-friends have rallied for the cause (Angela, Leslie, Shannon, Missy, Amy, Marci, Cate, Connie, Jane, Wendi, Alyssa!) and, together with their kids, they have raised nearly $1,000 for War Kids Relief. They have helped organize lemonade stands, greeting card design and sales, patriotic wagons, car washes, recycling projects, custom designed peace-sign magnet sales and more (check out www.warkidsrelief.org/march/share to see what their industrious and amazing kids have done!).

Today, my friend Erin Kennedy and her two daughters started their own mother/daughter ASM4P fundraising project by taking pledges as they walk from New Hampshire to Boston! For three days they will walk 58 miles in support of War Kids Relief. As she told me in a previous email, "My goal is to raise children who have good character. This is our statement of how we want the world to be, and how we want to BE in the world."

Below is Erin's blog entry from their first day. Talk about inspiration!

Greetings,

I wanted to give you a quick status report on our first day of walking.

We covered just over 17 miles today. Most of you know that I walk 2-3 miles every day with my dog. I was positive that Kathleen and Allison would be the ones to have trouble with this walk, but it was me with the problem.

Apparently, I have never been this old before. I had to lean on Kathleen for the last mile while she sang to me; and Allison helped me envision being relaxed on a beach to help me reach the stopping point. But we made it and had such a great day. We spent the day talking, laughing, and adding to the documentary the girls are creating with the digital camera. It was such a joy to spend quality time with them, and I couldn't have been more proud. The only complaining I heard all day was in my own head around 4pm. The girls were a joy to be with and so supportive about the whole thing.

We are all in bed early to get a good night's rest for tomorrow's walk. We are going to check out the oldest working farm in America tomorrow when we go through Ipswich. It was started in 1635, back when walking was more popular!

Thanks so much for your support.

Erin

I just want to say THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART to all you parents out there who are leading by example and showing your kids how they can make a difference in the world. You are an inspiration to all of us!!

Rock on, ladies!

Dina

Day Thirty-two; Junction City, Kansas

Today was a mellow day, with nothing much on my to-do list other than to go find Gunnar out on the road and get us to our next campsite. I was totally relieved to have a day off because my brain is in serious need of a rest. I'm just so pooped I can't figure out if I am coming or going lately.

Unfortunately, however, even this simple task proved too much for me. By the time Gunnar called and told me to head north on Highway 43 to go get him, my brain had already shut down and I ended up driving nearly 10 miles south on Highway 43 before realizing that 43 north and 43 south are not the same thing. (It's that coming vs. going discrepancy I mentioned before.)

Jim Nihart (our videographer friend who is working on a documentary of the walk) is still with us for another couple days. He spent today filming Gunnar during his breaks.

He also got some interesting footage of me doing a few RV chores and not listening to directions.


July 31, 2009

As you know, this trip has been teaching me a lot about the sacrifices I am willing to make for the things in life that are important to me. I already knew that I was willing to live in an RV for 10-weeks to help children suffering from war. I also discovered that I would walk 3 miles in 105 -degree heat for a manicure. And this morning I discovered that I am willing to walk 3.8 miles for a decent cup of coffee.

It's true. Coffee is very important to me.

Around 10:30am we were at the Covered Wagon RV park in Abilene, Kansas (a very quaint mid-western town filled with lot of historic homes, picket fences and American flags on every lightpost). Our YMCA session in the nearby town of Salina wasn't scheduled until 4:00pm, so Gunnar was hanging out in the RV working on his route.

I had already finished my daily pot of Folgers but still couldn't seem to motivate myself to do anything productive, so I punched the word "coffee shop" into the GPS to see what was out there. Maybe something stronger would help.

Turned out that only 1.9 miles away was an internet cafe! I figured that walking there would be a great opportunity for me to get some exercise, get my caffeine fix, and take in the sights of Abilene all at the same time. So I packed my computer in my backpack, put on my walking shoes and headed north on Buckeye Road following the smell of espresso.

Traveling on foot through these small towns (in search of nail salons and coffeeshops) is a really great way to see the sights, I've discovered. In less than half a mile, I learned that Abilene is the birthplace of Dwight Eisenhower, it's the home of the Greyhound Hall of Fame (who knew there was one?)...as well as home of the legendary Kuntz's Drive-In (not even gonna try to pronounce that). I also found out that the county fair was going on this weekend at the local fairground...and even had a rodeo! Yee-haw!

I got to the cafe around 11:15am and downed a skim latte while sending email for the next 45 minutes. Ahhh. After my coffee addiction was satisfied, I hiked back to the RV, unhitched and went out to find Gunnar somewhere on the road to Salina.

When we got to the YMCA, we had another good session with the kids, however, I've noticed that kids are quite a bit wilder at 4:00pm than they are at earlier times in the day. Good thing I still had a little caffeine buzz going because getting them to focus took a little extra work. But we got the session underway and they all did a great job asking questions and working on their letters for Gunnar and I to take to kids in Iraq and Afghanistan. To date, we have collected close to 2,000 letters!

Wow, getting 2,000 kids to do anything...no wonder I am so exhausted. No wonder I am addicted to coffee as well.

***

After the Y session concluded, we went back to the Covered Wagon RV park in Abilene to spend another night, so I decided to head over to the county fair for a little R&R (Rest & Rodeo). The truth is, back in Minnesota, going to the county fairs is my absolute all-time favorite summer thing to do with my family; taking my kids to see all the 4-H exhibits, the FFA barnyard animals, the rodeos--I was so excited to be there. I even wore my cool new Oklahoma cowboy hat and boots to celebrate!

It was a picture-perfect summer evening at the fairground and families were out strolling around, eating deep-fried food on sticks and meeting up with friends and neighbors. The 4-H kids were proudly exhibiting their art projects, the FFA kids were nervously lining up their prized calves to show the judges, and it was just one of those beautiful moments that reminded me how fortunate my kids are to be Americans living in such a peaceful world. Every child in the world should have an opportunity to grow up like this, I thought.

But by the time I got to the sheep barn, for the first time since I've been on this trip I became completely overwhelmed with homesickness. My happiness turned to sadness, and I missed my family so much I just couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

Of course, I still feel that this trip is an important sacrifice I am proud to make--more than ever. If Gunnar and I can get these War Kids Relief programs funded, we will be able to change the lives of countless children who otherwise couldn't even dream of experiencing a peaceful evening like this. That's the point of everything we are doing.

I know that my own girls understand this and support what I'm doing, too...but it doesn't take away the fact that I haven't hugged them in over 4 weeks. It's excruciating.



I love you guys. (*sniff*)




July 29-30 , 2009

Today we took a major detour (like a few hundred miles) and ended up in Waldron, Missouri...on purpose though!

We were invited to visit and make a presentation at the Operation: Purple summer camp where kids from the National Military Families Association (NMFA) were spending the week. This camp is just like any other typical summer camp; rustic cabins in the woods, lots of game-playing, craft-making and silly camp songs. (Actually, as a kid I never went to summer camp, but I did see "The Parent Trap" a few times, which is where I reference all my camp info from.) The difference is that all these kids have parents deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Military kids are often overlooked in the shuffle of deployment, and many suffer from the trauma of separation anxiety, disjointed family structure, fear for the safety of the deployed parent, as well as a sense of helplessness. So, Operation: Purple was created to bring these kids together with their peers who understand the stress they are under, to learn coping skills that help them deal with the familial struggles of deployment....and to just have some good old-fashioned camp fun as well.

In fact, part of the funds raised from this walk will go towards a WKR program that further supports the needs of these kids. Just because they live in America doesn't mean they aren't war kids, too.

Along with our friend and videographer, Jim Nihart, who joined us to work on a documentary of the walk, Gunnar and I arrived Tuesday evening, and met a few of the camp counsellors. Then we spent Wednesday morning just hanging around getting to know some of the kids during the Military Day activities. About a dozen or so army guys and gals came to teach stuff like compass reading, navigation, cover and concealment, and important survival skills like how to make a tent out of your shoelaces. It was good fun!

Over lunch time Gunnar and I made two seperate hour-long presentations to accommodate the 150 OP kids. As usual, we began by explaining what WKR is all about, the need and our mission to help kids affected by war. Gunnar then shared some heartwarming personal stories of his experiences with the Iraqi kids during his tour, as well as how he was forced to discontinue these friendships due to the Iraqi childrens' recruitment into insurgencies, and the sadness that ensued among the kids as well as the troops. From there, we shared letters from the Iraqi kids that we collected during our WKR pilot program from last winter.

Reading the letters gave the OP kids a great opportunity to learn a little bit about the realities of the lives of the Iraqi kids that they otherwise may never have had much chance to think about. We had a very enaging group discussion on the similarities and differences they discovered between the Iraqi and US kids, and we both found the OP kids to be incredibly insightful with many wonderful questions and comments. After the letter reading concluded, they all had the chance to write their own letters to the kids in Iraq and Afghanistan. From the quotes below, it is clear that these kids got a lot out of the session:

"My dad is in the Navy and he was deployed to Afghanistan for 6 months. I'm proud that he was able to help people. I loved writing this letter because I want to help people too."

"I want you to know that I think you are the bravest person I have ever heard of. To be in a war-torn country, I couldn't do that....We also have parents who do dangerous stuff. I want you to know that I think of you as my Iraq friend, and you can say that I am your American sister."

"My dad is serving in the US Army. When he is in Iraq I get very nervous. I know you must go through so much just living an everyday life. I can't imagine what it would be like to live where you do."

"My hope is that from reading this letter you learn that there are Americans who care about you and are thinking about you constantly...I hope you also know that that even though we have never met, I will always remember writing this letter to you and I hope you will keep it and remember that I'm thinking about you and your family and your friends every day. Stay strong."

"I just wanna say that I know that times get hard sometimes, but remember that through every dark night and scary moment that there is a brighter day ahead and that the end is near. So no matter how hard things get, stick your chest out, hold your head up and you'll handle it."

Pretty amazing stuff, huh? I truly believe that the best way we can overcome our own life's problems is to start helping someone else with theirs. I think these military kids get that.

After the session concluded, we gave the kids an overnight assignment if they chose to do it. They were each given a piece of paper to come up with a well thought out service project/fundraiser explaining in detail how they would raise money for ASM4P. The next morning we got some really great project ideas going!! From babysitting to dogsitting, lemonade stands in the summer...hot chocolate stands in the winter...selling their old toys, holding swimming pool parties, doing manicures for $1 each, fundraising activities during the camp carnivals, bake sales at VFWs, bracelet making/selling...and on and on! Go kids, go!

We hit the road after lunch to take Gunnar back to where he left off on his walk route, and were really sad to leave, but we loved working with the NMFA kids. Thanks for the fun guys!



July 28, 2009

Today we did another double-header with sessions at both the Andover and El Dorado YMCAs, north of Wichita. Combined we met with over 150 kids!





Check us out in the El Dorado news! http://www.eldoradotimes.com/news/x1543607178/Helping-the-kids

Afterwards, with only a few minutes to catch our breath and swing into the Arby's drive-thru, we were on our way to Waldron, Missouri.

Never a dull moment out here!


Stay tuned...


Love, Dina