Wounded soldier collects school supplies to send to Afghan kids

When Army Spec. Christopher "Kit" Lowe patrolled the villages of Afghanistan last year, he would often see children running around, he said.

"You're driving around, and once you get more out of Kabul and into a more rural area where the kids aren't in school, you'll see them on the street corner throwing rocks at you."

"If we did see them in a school setting," Lowe added later, "they were using -- because some parts are real sandy -- they were using the sand as like a chalkboard. . . . They would write in the sand and then erase it."

Sipping chai in a room at the Afghan Embassy on Friday, Lowe recalled his four months serving in the country as part of the Georgia National Guard's 1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. In August, the munitions specialist was shot in the leg during a clash with Taliban forces in Kapisa province and rescued by U.S.-trained Afghan soldiers. Now, Lowe said, he's trying to say thank you to the Afghan people.

During Lowe's recuperation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, he spent part of the time collecting school supplies to send to Afghan children.

On Friday, he delivered eight boxes containing paper, pens and other basic school supplies. Lowe is returning to his home town of Savannah, Ga., on Saturday, where he will report to nearby Fort Stewart. While there, Lowe said, he will finish college with a major in international studies in the Middle East and continue to help with the school supplies drive.

Lowe said he hopes the supplies will help build better relations between U.S. troops and the Afghan people.

"The best way to beat the Taliban is through education," he said. "I think education is very, very important if you're going to have a free world."

Lowe's work is part of a larger grass-roots effort started by his friend Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Rex Temple, who was based at the same camp in Afghanistan, said Liisa Temple, the sergeant's wife. During a routine village mission, a boy asked her husband for a pen, she said.

"It just really deeply impacted my husband, and he came back from the mission and called me and told me, 'You have to send me some school supplies.' "

Liisa Temple, an adjunct professor in Tampa, sent what she could to her husband's Air Force team. The team is able to deliver supplies in areas where most humanitarian groups aren't able to go. With the help of other donators, Liisa Temple estimates that at least 600 boxes of supplies have been sent. After Lowe was wounded, she contacted him for support. She said Lowe has been a great spokesman for the cause.

In his time in Washington, Lowe said, he has taken advantage of his hospital's proximity to influential people. He said he has had conversations about the donation program with high-ranking Army officials, as well as Greg Mortenson, co-author of "Three Cups of Tea," and Vice President Biden's wife, Jill.

Afghanistan's ambassador, Said T. Jawad, said in an e-mail that the embassy was "deeply touched" by Lowe's efforts.

"Even after sustaining an injury, he continues to contribute to Afghanistan in a truly transformational way which builds a partnership and understanding between the people of the United States and Afghanistan," Jawad wrote.

Lowe said his goal is to return to Afghanistan in a civilian capacity and assist in humanitarian campaigns.