Frances Richey

In this picture, the boy with his arm around Casey’s shoulder is Johnnie. Here is what Casey told me about him: “He hung out at our front gate. He had taught himself English over the years of soldiers being there, and he would be their helper. An Afghan national would show up to go to work. Civilian contractors would hire them to do the work. Because the Afghan nationals didn’t speak English, Johnnie would help our soldiers as far as translating to get them through the gate. He was a little helper. We all wanted to adopt him.”

Casey provided medical care to children like the baby in this picture who was brought to the medical mission she was on in Kabul. She told me, “...the children of Afghanistan have the most incredible eyes. They just melt you. They have no idea what’s happened there, no idea what the future holds...after we gave them care and medicines (women and children) that expression, like a kid that gets his first most favorite Christmas present, or they’re getting shoes on their feet for the first time in their whole life...or they’re finally going to have a warm coat.”