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HOW TO HELP

Donations of school supplies and other items for Iraqi children = will be=20 taken through Nov. 20. To contribute, call Silva Mirzoian's = nonprofit=20 Passions & Dreams at (310) 273-1019 or e-mail contact@passions = dreams.org.

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Friday, November 5, 2004

Supplying love to Iraqi kids

Chapman Elementary pupils donate pencils, toys and lots more.

By VIK JOLLY

The Orange County Register

ORANGE =96 Megan Cox found it easy to part with eight of her precious = Beanie=20 Babies, a sweater, a toy clock and a purse.

"I want the Iraqi kids to have some of the supplies because we're at = war=20 right now," said Megan, 7. And she added, softly: "Kids are losing=20 families."

Words like this bring tears to Silva Mirzoian's eyes, expressions of = caring=20 that she hopes Iraqi children in her homeland will appreciate when they = handle=20 stuffed animals, books, backpacks, shoes and clothes sent to them by = their=20 American counterparts.

To that end, Megan's schoolmates at Chapman Hills Elementary in = Orange on=20 Tuesday loaded up a van with school supplies and other items they = collected in=20 the past two weeks.

The items were taken for storage to a Los Angeles warehouse and to = Mirzoian's=20 Beverly Hills nonprofit, Passions & Dreams.

The goods will become part of an expected container load - 20,000 to = 25,000=20 pounds - to be delivered to needy Iraqi children halfway around the = world close=20 to Thanksgiving.

Mirzoian, an Iraqi-Armenian Christian, heard from her aunts and = cousins in=20 Baghdad about children in dire need of school supplies, stories that = mothers of=20 children at Chapman Hills Elementary also have read and seen on = television.

Three to five Iraqi schoolchildren share one pencil. Kids walk = barefoot to=20 school, on the days that they go at all. And toys, well, for the most = part,=20 there aren't any to play with.

"Unfortunately, Iraqi children temporarily don't have supplies," = Mirzoian=20 told a Chapman assembly on Tuesday, fighting back tears. "It's so = beautiful for=20 them to receive supplies all the way from America."

Last year, Mirzoian tried to get school supplies to children in = Baghdad, but=20 her drive failed to gain traction. This year has proved easier because = of all=20 the attention being paid to Iraq.

Chapman is the only Orange County school to participate so far. = Mirzoian=20 connected with a school mom, Nada Hajjar, who approached the principal = and the=20 PTA. Donations also are coming from a high school in La Crescenta, = business=20 organizations and individuals.

Friends and strangers, many of them American mothers, have come to = the=20 rescue.

"All mothers care about children, and knowing what all these children = in Iraq=20 are going through, their lives are in shambles and they're losing = parents," said=20 Megan's mother, Mary Cox. "It's nice for all of us to think that our=20 contributions might make a difference for a few kids over in Iraq."

A stuffed brown teddy bear with a red bow. A mini pink suitcase on = wheels.=20 Notebooks, folders and crayons.

To this pile of items collected by Chapman pupils, sixth-grader Joey = Ramirez=20 added two books Tuesday - "Boxcar Children" book stories by Gertrude = Chandler=20 Warner.

"We have CD players, we have MP3s, we have a bunch of electronic = things and=20 these guys are happy for, like, little cars and stuff and it's the least = we can=20 do," said Joey, 11. "I mean, they're just not as fortunate as we are. We = got so=20 many things and they got so little."

He and other classmates helped load the items into the van. And the = curious=20 bunch peppered Mirzoian with questions.

"Will this be going to Baghdad?" "How are you going to get it to = Iraq?" "Do=20 they get to choose what they get?"

Items will be distributed through Life for Relief & Development, = a=20 nonprofit that offers humanitarian services globally. The goods are = expected to=20 arrive close to Thanksgiving and shortly after Eid al-Fitr, the holiday = marking=20 the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when children traditionally = receive=20 gifts.

Mirzoian views sending supplies as a gesture of American good will = that won't=20 go unnoticed by Iraqis.

"For me, it's a way of trying to end terrorism; it's spreading love = instead=20 of fear," Mirzoian said. "It shows that we care. This will sort of curb = the=20 hatred towards foreigners and Americans. You get them with kindness, not = guns."

A recent documentary, filmed by Iraqis, shows children walking = barefoot and=20 without toys. One youth in the film asks Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to = send=20 weights so he can build muscles.

"No matter where you are politically," said Kris Adams, whose = daughter Emma,=20 7, brought shoes, books, crayons, pencils, a journal and toys for the = Chapman=20 drive, "I can't imagine how devastating it must be for moms and = kids."

Contact the writer: vjolly@ocregister.com or (714) = 704-3740

=20 Listen to stories like this and more: Audio news &=20 Podcasts

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Supplying love to Iraqi kids

Chapman Elementary pupils donate pencils, toys and lots more.