How many of us follow the news coming out of Iraq or Afghanistan and really stop to think about the human toll these wars have taken? Other than the details shared by our local papers when a local soldier is killed or injured, do any of us fully comprehend what is behind the numbers and the headlines? What toll is taken on the families of those who are killed? Or maimed, or wounded? Do we ever really learn the disturbing details, the very human details? Most likely, not.
Ranya Kelly, founder of The Redistribution Center in Denver knows exactly what this toll involves. We have written about Ranya in this Diary many times. She is the dedicated, hard-working champion of taking what others (manufacturers, retailers and so many more) are going to toss into landfills and delivering it to people who live in extreme poverty and despair. In truth, The Redistribution Center is one of the first ecology programs ever found in this country. In addition to rescuing perfectly good items Ranya has also started a small food bank which steps in when some of the larger entities nearby find themselves without sufficient supplies to feed all of the hungry people who come to their doors.
In recent times, though, Ranya has reached out to another forgotten segment of our population-returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who have sustained unspeakable injuries while fighting, and are now back home with insufficient resources to help them get on with their lives. As we listen to Ranya share their stories we shudder at the sadness and the horror of it all. In a phone conversation last Thursday, Ranya shared the story of a female soldier who, after returning from Iraq, resumed her life, became pregnant and delivered a baby girl. Soon after, she was diagnosed with colon cancer, she and her husband lost their rented home and her husband lost his job. What did they need? Diapers. They did not have enough money for diapers.
Ranya tells us that she has six veterans waiting for couches…couches! While the VA may get them a place to live, they do not necessarily furnish it for them and many soldiers need those couches because that is where some of them are able to sleep more comfortably, rather than in a traditional bed. In another case, a wounded Purple Heart veteran returned home to find his wife had left him and in the process destroyed their home leaving him and their child nothing but mold and mildew and nothing to salvage. In that case, Ranya provided him with everything he needed to fill his home and start over again.
There is no shortage of stories like these. Ranya could probably fill a book with them. The Good People Fund is committed to helping where we can and we have just sent funds to cover the cost of a new couch and diapers for the ill soldier described here.
How many of us knew about these situations? How many of us could help?
