Deployed Yokota Airmen helps paint special needs school in Kyrgyzstan

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Tammie Moore
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  A little help and elbow grease can go a long way when it comes to partnership building.

Nine Airmen from the Transit Center traveled to the Uventis School for special needs children Aug. 26 to help staff members prepare for the upcoming school year. The Airmen, who are part of the Transit Center's 5/6 Council, painted three classrooms and a storage area.

Though this was the first time most of the council members have been to the school, the relationship between the staff and Transit Center was established years ago.

"This is the second time they have helped me paint," said retired Army Master Sgt. Jim Carney, whose wife is the school director. "The last time they helped me paint the other half of the building. It is absolutely great."

His wife formed the school in 1996 to help her autistic daughter.

"All of the students have special needs, mental or physical," said Carney who retired from the Army in 2005 as the Kyrgyz Republic state partnership coordinator. "We teach them life skills, so they can actually help their family."

This is the second time Tech. Sgt. Eric Lacroix, 376th Expeditionary Maintenance Group Maintenance Operations Center supervisor, has been to the school. The 5/6 Council president first visited the school on a prior deployment and spent this day interacting with students.

"We contacted the (staff) in May to ask what work needed to be done," said Lacroix, who is deployed from Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. After that it was just a matter of working out the timing for the council members' trip to the school.

The council members plan to continue the partnership with the school.

"We want to keep this relationship going and continue the assistance," said Staff Sgt. Ramon Memita, 5/6 Council Humanitarian Assistance coordinator. "We don't want to let them drop off the radar."

Memita, who is deployed from Yokota Air Base, Japan, wants Airmen deployed to the Transit Center have to take advantage of the opportunity to help Kyrgyz communities.

"Being deployed here offers a lot of things to do and different activities to participate in, but one of the most rewarding things you can do is give back to the community," said the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Theater Security Cooperation Humanitarian Assistance Branch project officer. "There is a unique chance for us to do something in this part of the world. I think it is awesome, to be able to go out and give back to the local community."

The free help is not something Carney, who has lived in the Kyrgyz Republic since 2001, takes for granted.

"Thank you, you did a lot of work," he said. "We really appreciate it."