Portsmouth Family Division and District Court employees recently donated money and purchased 15 soccer balls for children living in some of the smaller and poorer towns outside of Kirkuk, Iraq.

The request for soccer balls came from the son of Family Division Case Manager Paula Akerley, who is serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. Captain Scott Akerley, a 2001 West Point graduate, is a Company Commander with the First Cavalry Division and patrols the outlying areas around Kirkuk.

Although soccer is THE SPORT in Iraq, decent soccer balls are rare - and in many of the poor areas the children have none. A soccer ball becomes community property and is treasured.

In a note of thanks, Scott said that the donated soccer balls have made hundreds of kids happy. He said, "In addition to making kids happy you are also keeping my soldiers safe and simultaneously putting a smile on their faces. We love it when we drive through a neighborhood and see a familiar pink ball bouncing around the street. It makes us feel like we did some good and at the same time lets us breathe easy for a minute, because a village with kids out playing soccer in the street almost always equals a safe village and friendly people." (You can also read about MooreMart's soccer ball drive)