THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all very
much. Good morning.
AUDIENCE: Good morning.
THE PRESIDENT: First, Harold, thanks a lot for the
introduction and thanks for your leadership for the Red
Cross. It's a joy to know that we're part of a country that
houses such a great institution as the Red Cross, that intends to help
people. And I want to thank you and I want to thank all the
Red Cross volunteers who are here to make sure that this warehouse
functions well and that the mission of helping Afghan children is
fulfilled.
Laura and I are thrilled to be here. First, I want you
to tell your neighbors that we really appreciated the good folks of New
Windsor lining the road to wave. It made us feel great this
morning, coming in from the middle school where we landed, by the
way. I don't know how many times a helicopter has landed on
the soccer field of the middle school -- (laughter) -- but it did this
morning. And a lot of your townsfolk were out there to greet
us. And for that we are really, really grateful, so please
tell them thanks on our behalf.
And I'm so proud of the job Laura is doing on behalf of the
country. She is such a steady, calm influence and she knows
the important priorities of life, and it starts with moms and dads
loving their children with all your heart and all your
soul. And so, welcome, Laura, and thank you for coming with
me today to New Windsor. (Applause.)
David, I want to thank you, as well, for your leadership of the Red
Cross. And I particularly want to thank Kristen
Thompson. She did a fantastic job, I thought,
introducing. (Applause.) You must have a pretty
darn good school system here. (Laughter.) She
sounds incredibly well educated and she was able to handle the pressure
in such an articulate way. So, Kristen, thank you, and thank
all the boys and girls who are here from this town. Those
who have helped raise money for the Afghan children, I want to thank
you. I know a lot of the Boys and Girls Clubs around
America, and particularly here, have helped and I want to
thanks. I want to thank all the Scouts who are here for
working to -- (applause.)
And I want to thank all the students who are here, as
well. I also want to thank your U.S. Congressman, Roscoe
Bartlett, and his wife, Ellen, for being here. I don't know
where the Congressman is, I saw him earlier today, but I want to thank
you for coming, Congressman. I know you care a lot about
this part of the world and I appreciate you being here this
morning. (Applause.)
I also want to thank Federal Express. It's a fine United
States company, and they are going to fly the first flight of supplies
overseas. And I want to thank Federal Express for
understanding that part of being a -- part of being a good corporate
citizen in America is to assume responsibility to help
others. And Federal Express has done this and I appreciate
your service and I appreciate your example. Thank you very
much. (Applause.)
And, finally, I want to thank the Church of the
Brethren. I want to thank you all --
(applause.) I want to thank you for your compassion and
love, and I want to thank you for loaning your warehouse for this most
noble project. It is so kind of you to figure out a way to
help. And so on behalf of all Americans, particularly the
children who have contributed to the fund, thanks a lot for your
contribution, as well. (Applause.)
You know, coming here this morning makes me so proud of America and
of our young people. We have given the Afghan children
something to smile about, because America's children are generous and
kind and compassionate. There have been bake sales and there
have been lemonade stands; and there are empty piggy banks and there
have been all kinds of drives to raise money for the Afghan children.
We've raised over $1.5 million thus far to help the children of
Afghanistan. That's a lot of effort by a lot of
youngsters. Everywhere I go, people are -- yesterday, on the
USS Enterprise, where I went to thank our soldiers and sailors for
defending freedom, one of the sailors handed me a dollar from his
daughter and said, would you make sure that gets into the fund for
Afghan children. It's happening all across the country and I
want to thank everybody for their hard work, for raising the
donations.
The spirit driving the donations was summed up in a letter that one
child wrote. It went this way, it said: Dear
Afghanistan children, God bless. People want to give you a
better life. All children should have love and
respect. I hope this helps you somehow.
Tomorrow, the first flight will leave, bound for Afghanistan to
deliver packages. These packages will brighten the lives of
Afghan children not only during Ramadan, but throughout the
winter. It is a reminder that we are at war with the Taliban
regime, not with the good, innocent people of Afghanistan.
We've been made painfully aware of the plight of the Afghan
children. One in three Afghan children is an
orphan. Almost half of Afghan children suffer from
malnutrition. One in four Afghan children won't live beyond
their fifth birthday.
This first shipment represents the good will of the American
children. It also represents our hope and desires that the
plight of the Afghan children improves, that life can be better for all
children in the world. It contains some interesting
surprises and vital supplies.
Tomorrow, we ship 1,500 winter tents, to provide shelter for Afghan
children and their families; 1,685 winter jackets to help keep children
warm; 10,000 gift parcels, including hats, socks and school supplies,
toothbrushes and hair brushes, candy and toys that we hope and know
will bring joy to children who have suffered such incredible hardship.
Each gift parcel is marked this way: A Gift To Afghan
Children From American Children. It's spoken in several --
it's written in several local languages. But one thing is --
when spirit is a part of each package. And it says, love
knows no bounds -- or boundaries.
Americans of all ages care deeply about our fellow citizens,
because we're a truly compassionate nation. We're a nation
of heart, a nation of decency and a nation that loves
freedom. Removing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan is one
way to help the children and women of Afghanistan. It's one
way to make sure the children and women of Afghanistan are able to have
a more decent and hopeful life. And the Afghan Children's
Fund is another way to help.
And so today I come to this warehouse full of love and decency and,
on behalf of America, say thank you from the bottom of our heart.
May God bless all the children in the world, and may God continue
to bless America. Thank you. (Applause.)