#FlashbackFriday: 1992—How the Exchange Helped a Girl Give a Gift to a Child in Somalia
In December 1992, President George H.W. Bush sent U.S. troops to Somalia as part of a multinational force for Operation Restore Hope. The operation’s mission was to provide a safe haven for humanitarian workers struggling with more than a half-million Somalis dying from famine, inter-clan violence and battles between warlords and the multinational force.
On Dec. 9, 1992, the Exchange was called to Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital and largest city, to provide support. A total of 17 Exchange associates deployed to the country between late 1992 and the withdrawal of U.S. troops at the end of March 1994.
A lot of Exchange stories came out of Somalia, but let’s focus on just one.
In December 1992, the Public Affairs Division at Dallas headquarters visited the Ruff House—a non-denominational ministry on the outskirts of Dallas that took in poor, handicapped and discarded children—to distribute holiday gifts. One girl was given a teddy bear—but she declined it, insisting that it go to a child in need in Somalia.
When Col. Sally Davidson, the PA chief at the time, heard the request, she contacted Lt. Col Gerald Chandler, assistant of Procurement Support and Policy. Davidson asked Chandler if he could take the bear with him on a tour as chief of the Exchange’s Somalia advance team.
Chandler agreed and took the bear with him. Shortly before he returned to Dallas, he gathered a few Marine security guards and headed to Lafole Hospital, which served destitute Somalis in a camp about 25 miles from Mogadishu. Chandler was determined to give the bear to one of the children living near the hospital.
The hospital had only one physician, Dr. Hawa Abdi Diblawe, who was also the its founder and director. Dr. Hawa, as she was known, and a registered nurse named Mariam Mohamed selected a young boy named Hasan from a crowd of about 500 children standing around the building. Chandler also brought monetary donations on behalf of some people in the United States.
Senior Airman Duane Bond captured the gift presentation in the photo above. Dr. Hawa and Nurse Mohamed are standing behind Hasan.
Source: Exchange Post archives
