America's Fund for Afghan Children

On Thursday October 11th, President Bush issued a call to action to children across America in support of the more than 10 million children in Afghanistan whose lives have been devastated by years of conflict and civil unrest. Asking each child to put a dollar in an envelope and send it to the White House, President Bush said, "this is something the children of America can do for the children of Afghanistan, even as we oppose the brutal Taliban regime. We will oppose their evil with firm justice, and we will answer their hatred with compassion for the Afghan people."

President Bush thanked American Red Cross and CEO Dr. Bernadine Healy.

More than 20 years of war and conflict have created a humanitarian crisis and denied the people of Afghanistan, particularly their children, a safe, healthy life and the promise of a future. With the highest infant and maternal mortality rates and lowest nutritional and literacy rates in the world, The White House created 'America's Fund for Afghan Children' to help the most vulnerable in Afghanistan and the world.

During President Bush's weekly radio address Saturday, he said, "I urge you (children) to show the best of America, by directly helping the children of Afghanistan who are suffering from the oppression and misrule of their own government. Many are malnourished, many are starving … Working with the American Red Cross, we will get that money to Afghan children in need."

The American Red Cross will be responsible for both administering the fund and developing relief programs to improve the lives of children and their impoverished families who are mired in an extended humanitarian crisis after enduring the decade-long Soviet occupation and ensuing civil strife.

A child hands President Bush a dollar for America's Fund for Afghan Children.

"Children across America can help their peers in a country of innocent children who have gone without for so many years," said American Red Cross President and CEO Dr. Bernadine Healy. "The donations provided by generous children across this great land will help provide food, shelter and medical attention so desperately needed by the children of Afghanistan."

Afghanistan has been hit hard by every possible catastrophe in the last twenty years - war, earthquakes, displacement, border controls, sanctions, economic deterioration, increased poverty and now the worst drought in thirty years.

Drought has affected at least 12 million Afghans. An estimated 2.6 million old refugees from the Soviet occupation era remain outside Afghanistan's borders in Iran and Pakistan, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Afghanistan's total population is estimated at nearly 26 million.

Only an estimated 23 percent of the total population has access to safe water, 12 percent has access to adequate sanitation, and only 19 percent of rural dwellers have access to clean water. The health and agricultural infrastructure of the country is in ruins. Children in Afghanistan have the lowest caloric intake in the world. Girls are not allowed to go to school -- only five percent are enrolled in primary school.

President Bush and Healy pose with Kristen Strickland, an 11-year-old caring for chickens in order to contribute, and her mother.

Recalling a similar campaign launched in 1938 by President Roosevelt that asked American children to give a dime to stop the spread of polio, this campaign asks children to give a dollar will help Afghan children left cold and hungry by years of war, crisis and natural disasters.

The American Red Cross will use an integrated approach to provide food, water, shelter, clothing and basic health care and preventive health education in Afghanistan with partners including the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the United Nations and other non-governmental organizations.

Children who want to contribute to the fund can send their donations to the White House, which has established a special zip code for the program: America's Fund for Afghan Children, c/o The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20509-1600.

The American Red Cross is proud to announce that children can now donate to the Fund for Afghan Children at their nearest grocery store. To assist with the collection and tracking of donations to the Fund, Coinstar has agreed to become an official collection site. The White House logo for the fund is currently displayed on all 8,500+ Coinstar machines and children can make their donations of change at the nearest Coinstar machine, which can be found by visiting www.coinstar.com.

Instructions for donating:

1. Take your change to a Coinstar machine at your local grocery store.
2. Choose the "donate" option
3. On the keypad provided, enter 1041 for "America's Fund for Afghan Children"
4. Empty your change into the Coinstar machine and wait for a count of your donation.
5. When you are finished, the Coinstar machine will provide you with a printed receipt. To receive a thank-you postcard, please fill-in your name and address and mail this receipt to the address provided.