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The students and the soldier
2004 was one of the best years of Maj. Todd Schmidt's life. He was on patrol in Afghanistan and there was a widespread feeling that things were looking up. Towards the end of his tour, the country was experiencing its first presidential elections in the history of the country, “and it was a relatively peaceful time and there was a lot of hope and optimism,” Schmidt said.
Then a Captain, Schmidt and his men regularly received care packages from supporters of U.S. Forces back in the states.
“We got the packages for ourselves and knew we would come in contact in the villages with lots of civilians that were dealing with a cycle of abject poverty and dealing with a county that has endured conflict for years,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt and his men then sent notes of thanks back home, adding that if they wanted to help Afghanis, they should send school supplies for local children.
“It helped in establishing relationships. The fact is that we are intermingling with these people on a daily basis and for many of them, they wanted to maintain their relationship with us to keep us helping their children,” Schmidt said, adding that on more than one occasion, one of these newly gained contacts would warn troops of enemy activity in the area.
The project, which began in August 2004, was made a non-profit with Schmidt as president.
Schmidt now works in the budget office in the Pentagon. He lives in Burke with his wife Joy.
One of his proudest moments was when Schmidt oversaw the distribution of supplies to 2,500 Afghani students in a soccer stadium in Kandahar city.
A native of Indiana, Schmidt grew up with a pastor father and teacher mother.
“Operation Dreamseed was a natural way of making people feel safe and secure and at the same time getting done what we needed to get done,” he said.
School conditions, when he arrived in Afghanistan, were still in tatters, and Schmidt witnessed upper level math teachers instructing students with pebbles and dried beans.
Over the last three years, Operation Dreamseed has raised more than $100,000, a large portion of which was sent to help build a school outside Kandahar City.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Operation Dreamseed textbooks, supplies and clothing are now being sent to Iraq, Kosovo and Colombia.
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