JSS HOR AL BOSH — Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers joined local leaders to bring much needed school supplies and toys to Al-Arwa Ibna al-Ward school in Halabsa, northwest of Baghdad, Jan. 25.

Shaykh Khalid and Muhammad Ibrahim, two local leaders, made final coordination with the school principal to ensure the operation went off without a hitch.

“Working with the Iraqi Police is always a pleasure, and the local leaders in the area do a   great job of helping us identify where we can help out,” said 1st Lt. Ben Flores, a platoon leader with MND-B.  “This school is very close to Shaykh Khalid, and conducting this operation jointly with the Iraqi Security Forces helped bring smiles to the faces of everyone involved.”

The group gave out pens, pencils, backpacks and toys. Along with the school supplies, the children were presented dolls made by students at the St. Andrews Priory School in Honolulu, much to the delight of those students who received them.

The dolls have a historical as well as sentimental significance for the Soldiers, and especially for Lt. Col. Thomas Mackey, a squadron commander with MND-B. The man responsible for starting the program, 1st Lt. Nainoa Hoe, lost his life in Mosul, Jan. 22, 2005.

Hoe, then one of Mackey’s platoon leaders, had hoped that the dolls would help bring happiness to the children of the war-torn country.

“The delivery of these precious dolls to young girls here in Iraq always brings smiles,” Mackey said. “The dolls brighten up the lives of these children, who are the future here. Nainoa was definitely onto something.”

This is the second time these Soldiers have delivered dolls from the St. Andrews Priory School to the children of Iraq. Last year, students from the Falahat area received the gifts.

“It has been our honor to deliver these dolls to needy children in Iraq, and we thank everyone responsible,” Mackey said. “Mr. Allen Hoe, Nainoa's father, played a huge role in connecting the dolls to our unit and, of course, to the volunteers at Saint Andrews, who made the dolls and gave of their time and effort for such a worthy cause – thank you.”