ACT

Army Veterans Return To Afghanistan On Humanitarian Mission

HOUSTON, TX, February 10, 2009 - A group of U.S. Special Forces veterans are returning to Afghanistan to bring humanitarian aid at a time when attacks on and abductions of humanitarian workers are choking-off aid efforts in the country. The veterans have formed Afghan Care Today, or ACT, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing medical and educational aid directly to civilians living in the most dangerous areas of the country.

According to aid organizations, access to Afghan communities in need of humanitarian assistance shrinks daily as a result of Taliban attacks. Thirty humanitarian workers have been killed in 2008 – twice as many as last year – and eighty have been kidnapped. "The Taliban want at all costs to prevent the supply of food to Afghans," says Ulrich Delius of the human rights group The Society for Threatened People. He warns that Afghan civilians are threatened by a "winter of starvation."

"The Taliban want to create chaos, instability and a general lack of confidence in the Afghan government. Unfortunately, it is the innocent civilians who pay the price of Taliban aspirations," says Laval Simons, a former Special Forces medic and the founder of ACT.

Using Afghan workers and traveling with local security forces, ACT's first mission is to build medical and educational facilities in a region of the country in which they have existing relationships with the local populace. "Our initial goal is to provide much-needed relief in the form of food and medical care, but our long-term commitment is to train health care providers and create schools throughout the country" Simons said. ACT personnel will incorporate medical and other professionals into their humanitarian missions on an as needed basis.

ACT is comprised primarily of medics and engineers who have previously served in Afghanistan. Members include a retired U.S. Army General, a NASA aerospace engineer and a sales representative for a medical device company. Owing to their military experience and training, ACT personnel are adept at operating in austere environments and working with local populations. They are highly skilled trainers known for their "quiet professionalism." Simons stresses, however, that ACT personnel are not returning to Afghanistan as soldiers or on behalf of any government. "We're returning as civilians to provide humanitarian aid directly to the people of Afghanistan."

ACT has representatives available for speaking engagements and fundraising events. For more information or to make a donation, please contact Afghan Care Today.

Phone: (860) 881-5052

Email: info@afghancaretoday.org