Southeast alumna gathers school supplies for Afghan children

Southeast Missouri State University alumna Haley Seger recruits students from her alma mater to aid in collecting school supplies for children in Nangarhar province in Afghanistan.

The Army National Guard specialist works with her father, Daniel Seger, to make the project happen.

Southeast alumna Haley Seger poses with a cutout of her father Daniel, who has been serving as an advisor to the Afghan police since 2012.Jelani Days ~ Southeast Arrow

Daniel, a former Cape Girardeau police officer, has been in Afghanistan since 2012, where he spends six to eight consecutive months at a time as an advisor to the Afghan police.

In his first year, Daniel said he met Sgt. Saleem Gul, who told him about the need for school supplies in the Nangarhar province. He explained the schools there had been gutted by bombs, and in some areas, the Taliban would still not allow girls to attend school.

On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that despite being one of the country's most criticized security forces, police in Afghanistan are the "hardest hit" in the "relentless attacks" by the Taliban and Islamic State insurgents. Such attacks have resulted in 70% of all casualties among government forces, according to the AP.

Back in the States, Haley does what she can to help the children living in the midst of a war-torn area.

She said collecting the supplies felt like the right thing to do, so she took to the 'Living at Southeast' Facebook page -- a public group that exists as a resource for university students and staff to network and share information -- to enlist some help. There, Haley began calling on students to donate in any way they could. She also posted pictures of the tents in which children attended school because their school building didn't exist anymore.

"Education to me and my family is very important," Haley said. "Knowing that there are kids out there who can't get an education because of stuff we take for granted blew my mind, and I knew I needed to do something about this."

Although this isn't an official program, the father-daughter duo — with the support of the students at Southeast — have helped more than 150 Afghan children by supplying books, paper and pencils.

Haley has sent three packages, each weighing 75 pounds, to Sgt. Gul in Afghanistan, who then distributes the contents to various schools around the province.

Sgt. Saleem Gul distributes school supplies to an all-boys school in Afghanistan.Submitted by Haley Seger

Daniel said there's always a need for supplies, and the children are "tickled" by anything they receive from Southeast students.

"This was definitely a community effort," Haley said. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without the students."

Donations are accepted at the Office of Military and Veteran Services, room 302 in the University Center. Haley can be reached by Facebook Messenger for additional information.