Dolls delight Bamiyan children

Operation Highland staff have brought some joy to children in Afghanistan in the form of dolls hand-made in Wellington.

Late last year, Highland 6 staff - Contingent Commander John Kelly and Inspectors Bridget Doell and Marty Edghill - visited the Bamiyan Children’s Rehabilitation Centre.

The Centre is a small state-funded school with about 200 students, a number of whom are either handicapped or disabled in some way.

Staff handed out dolls hand-made by the Wellington-based Embroiderers Guild to the school, which were warmly and genuinely received by the girls and boys.

Among the 32 dolls, a pair of twin dolls was made to encourage correspondence between the children and NZ Police. One twin, with an attached letter, was given to Qudsiya, a female teacher at the school, while the other resides at Police National Headquarters.

Police will ensure the post gets through in the interim as the Bamiyan Post Office still requires development.

The school will be re-visited on a regular basis to facilitate future projects with the children and teachers.

The International Service Group carefully considers any items to be given as gifts to children before approving them for distribution by overseas deployments.