Today was my first time interacting with the Iraqi people. I volunteered to help with the Hearts for Baghdad program, where we visit a medical clinic on base and play with the children who come in.

We first gave out coloring books and boxes of crayons but ran out quickly. Just like American children in kindergarden, if you don’t have a big bucket of crayons for everyone to pull from, they won’t share their personal boxes. Many children kept coming up, asking for crayons, but all we could do was borrow one from another child. > more <

As some of you may have heard, a middle school in Maine recently passed a regulation that allows children as young as 11 years old to receive contraceptives. The children need parents permission to see the health center but, because state law says health concerns are confidential, parents won’t be notified if their children are receiving the birth control devices. > more <