Charity Money To Go To Afghanistan
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) - The money that American children collect for UNICEF this Halloween will be donated to Afghan children, the head of the U.S. fund for UNICEF said Monday.
It will be the first time in the 51 years that American children have been collecting money for UNICEF that all the proceeds will go to one cause, said Charles J. Lyons, president of the U.S. Fund for the United Nations Children's Fund.
``All the proceeds for trick-or-treating for UNICEF are going to go to children in and around Afghanistan,'' Lyons told a news conference in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The money will go to help Afghan children in Afghanistan and in refugee camps in neighboring countries, he said. Pakistan has more than 2 million Afghans refugees who have fled years of war and famine in their homeland as well as the current U.S.-led airstrikes.
American children are expected to collect $3 million to $5 million for UNICEF, mostly in pennies, when they go door-to-door asking for candy Wednesday on Halloween.
Uzbekistan, which has shut its border with Afghanistan fearing a deluge of refugees, has provided a base for some U.S. troops. Humanitarian aid shipments are expected to move from southern Uzbekistan to Afghanistan in the coming weeks.
With the weather in Afghanistan growing colder, UNICEF officials warn that time is running out to help Afghan children. Parts of northern Afghanistan are mountainous, and roads are likely to be impassable after the first snow.
Some 400,000 Afghan children are in danger of dying this winter because of cold and malnutrition if aid is not forthcoming, Lyons said.
He said the U.S. Fund for UNICEF decided to give Halloween money to help Afghan children after President Bush earlier this month called on American children to contribute to a fund for Afghan children.
U.S. UNICEF has put ads in American newspapers asking for contributions to help Afghan children and the response has been ``phenomenal,'' Lyons said.
``Individuals are writing us checks for $10,000, $20,000 for Afghanistan,'' Lyons said. ``People thought there would be reticence because of Sept. 11 (terror attacks) but the public response has been incredibly generous.''
Originally published October 29, 2001.
