(Washington, DC) On 14 June, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency commemorated the first shipment of charitable aide to be transported to Afghanistan by the Department of Defense under the Denton program. Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, took part in a media event with Judy McCallum of the Department of Defense at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Also present at the event was Kenneth Merlo, the executive director of Chances for Children.
The Duchess is the founder of a charity called Chances for Children, which raised several tons of school supplies for distribution to schools in Afghanistan. Chances for Children has a presence around the world, to include an ongoing presence in Afghanistan. Ms McCallum runs the Denton program, which transports charitable supplies on military aircraft on a space-available basis. Last year, the Denton program moved over three million pounds of supplies to countries all around the world.
The school supplies were donated by schoolchildren. They were then moved by Chances for Children to a bonded warehouse in Jersey City, New Jersey. At the warehouse, the supplies were inspected for suitability and condition. The supplies have now been accepted for shipment by the Department of Defense, and are awaiting space available transport on US military aircraft.
Once in Afghanistan, the supplies will be turned over to the local Chances for Children office, and distributed to schools throughout the country. This is part of an extensive military effort to support humanitarian projects in Afghanistan that includes millions of dollars in aid. For more information on the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and its humanitarian activities, visit our website at http://www.dsca.mil . For information on the Denton program, to include eligibility requirements, check out the Denton website at http://www.dentonfunded.ida.org/ .