As their fellow Brownies laughed and shouted in the background with the pure exuberance of being kids, Katie Turner and two other Brownies stood nearby, pondering the importance of boxes crammed with toys, clothes and school supplies.

Though they might be too young to fully realize the extent of their own good fortune, one gets the idea these girls know their sacrifices have something to do with easing the unending poverty and bleak lives eked out by kids in dusty, hot, war-torn villages half a world away.

“This will make it better,” said Katie, 7. “Maybe they don’t have toys to play with.”

Though understandably reticent to open up around a guy they’d never seen before, the girls did say they’d collected McDonald’s Happy Meals toys, shoes and other items, including crayons and glue, pens and paper.

The girls are among 17 first-graders at Shupe Elementary School who belong to Amherst Brownie Troop 341 who, along with moms and other volunteers, gathered one day last week at the old Amherst post office on Park Avenue to collect and box up donations of toys, school supplies and clothing bound for youngsters in the Iraqi province of Diyala, northeast of Baghdad.

The effort was organized with the help of Misty Kelley, mother of Emma Kelley, 7, one of the Brownie troop members, and Linda Turley, the sister of Staff Sgt. Aaron Zaleski.

Zaleski is a member of the U.S. Army’s 350th Psychological Team, whose job includes trying to make a positive connection between American military personnel and Iraqi adults and children.

In this guise, Zaleski has seen the utter lack of necessities, much less creature comforts, possessed by the Iraqis.

“They’d get cookies all the time, and then he told me to quit sending that kind of thing,” Turley said. “He said the locals covet pencils like gold. They go crazy for them. And he said they have mini-riots over soccer balls. The extent of the poverty is unbelievable.”

Asked for their thoughts on what life was like for children in Iraq, Katie said, “It’s probably bad.”

“This will make them happier,” piped in Gabrielle Krugman, 7.

Shoes, another everyday item for kids here, are in short supply in Iraq.

“There, shoes are just for school,” Turley said. “Kids are not allowed to wear them to play in. They go barefoot otherwise.”  

Iraqi children may also find delight in the handmade greeting cards made by the Brownies, who will get to see the joy created by their good work.

“My brother promised to send back photos of them passing out stuff,” Turley said.

The several boxes of donated toys, school items and other goods did not include donations yet to be received from the McDonald’s restaurants on Middle Ridge and Leavitt Roads.

The Amherst Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, which typically ships packages to troops overseas along with the American Legion Post, has agreed to cover costs of shipping the Brownies’ donated goods overseas.

Toys, school supplies and clothes will be accepted this week. Anyone interested in donating may call Kelley at (440) 988-2004 for information.  

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