By IANS
Kabul : Spanish troops stationed in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have opened an orphanage in Afghanistan’s Qala-e-Naw, the capital of north-western Badghis province, Spain’s EFE news agency reported Friday.
The orphanage was named after Sergeant Juan Antonio Abril who died in an accident while patrolling the area May 26, 2007, the ISAF said in a statement Thursday.
An inaugural ceremony was organised in Badghis by the provincial reconstruction team, which was attended by Abril’s widow, the lieutenant governor and the deputy minister of social affairs. A large number of orphans participated in the event.
Spanish Defence Ministry, in collaboration with a private company, will run the orphanage as part of its reconstruction efforts in the strife-torn country. The orphanage is spread across an area of 1,000 sq metres that includes a dining room, kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, classrooms and a recreation area.
Badghis’s lieutenant governor said the orphanage serves to honour Abril’s life by enhancing the human and social development of the province and securing a better future for its children.
Abril’s widow said her husband often talked about the Afghan children and was hopeful that the youngsters would grow up to build a secure and peaceful country.
Some 700 Spanish soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan as part of the ISAF – the NATO-led security and development mission in the country.