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Maritime Civil Affairs Team Delivers Smiles to Ecuadorian Children

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS110113-08
1/13/2011

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) Jeffery Tilghman Williams, High Speed Vessel (HSV) 2 Swift Public Affairs

MANTA, Ecuador (NNS) -- Sailors assigned to Maritime Civil Affairs Team (MCAT) 207 passed out stuffed animals to kids at a halfway home for endangered youth in Manta, Ecuador, Jan. 12.

The five-man team arrived at the Shekinah Foundation in the early morning to deliver 19 stuffed animals donated by Loving Hugs Inc., in support of Project Handclasp, a U.S. Navy program that accepts and transports educational, humanitarian and goodwill material donated by America's private sector on a space-available basis aboard U.S. Navy ships for distribution to foreign nation recipients.

"Being able to do things like this makes the job worthwhile," said Chief Boatswain's Mate Daniel Triola. "No matter how strong of a person you are, seeing the look on these children's faces as they accepted the stuffed animals will make you smile."

The Shekinah Foundation is a facility that provides physical and mental rehabilitation to children ages 17 and under, who have been abandoned or suffered abuse from their families. The foundation's mission is to successfully reintegrate children with their families within six months by utilizing social workers and counseling sessions.

"The kids here needed a morning like this to bring some joy to their lives," said Sandra Andrade de Herrera, Shekinah Foundation president. "Every little bit counts, and we appreciate the time and effort committed by these Sailors. It's about human beings helping human beings."

MCAT 207 is currently supporting Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2011.

MCAT is an element of Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command (MCAST), which staffs, trains, equips and deploys Sailors to facilitate and enable a Navy component or joint task force commander to establish and enhance relations between military forces, governmental and nongovernmental organizations and the civilian populace.

Accomplished in a collaborative manner across the spectrum of operations in the maritime environment, MCAST executes civilian-to-military operations and military-to-military training, as directed, in support of security cooperation and security assistance requirements.

SPS is an annual deployment of U.S. ships to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility in the Caribbean and Latin America involving information sharing with navies, coast guards and civilian services throughout the region.

Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (COMUSNAVSO) is the naval component command for U.S. Southern Command and is responsible for all naval personnel and assets in the area of responsibility.

COMUSNAVSO conducts a variety of missions in support of the U.S. maritime strategy, including theater security cooperation, relationship building, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, community relations, and counter-illicit trafficking operations.