Photos below
The morning
after the USS Bradley pulled into port in Montevideo, a
group of sailors went out into the city to perform some
community service. (Thursday, Oct. 30)
Seven sailors took buckets
and washcloths to clean a statue of U.S. President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt (FDR), located across the street from the
U.S. Ambassador’s residence. Another group headed
to the Martin Luther King School to start painting inside
and out and refurbishing a classroom into a computer lab.
The two groups worked together later on Thursday (Oct. 30)
and all day Friday (Oct. 31) at the school.
The sailors used their expertise in electrical work and
welding to help get the school in shape. On Friday, parents
and students, who were give the day off from school, went
out to work alongside the sailors to spruce up their school.
U.S. Embassy employees also volunteered on Friday to help
with painting, building and securing the schools.
The U.S. Embassy arranged
for the sailors to take part in the community service projects
in Montevideo. The Martin Luther King School project was
part of the Embassy’s July 4 series of activities.
US firms gave monetary and non-monetary donations to support
these activities. Eight computers, donated by Citibank,
were installed in the MLK school.
MLK school officials said
the teachers, parents and school children were excited to
have, for the first time, access to computers at their school.
The sailors had just come
from Buenos Aires, where they completed a similar project
at a public school. They said the community service projects
are their way of giving something back to their host countries
as they travel around the world.
“I like to interact
with the community and contribute to the communities in
the places I go. And this is a good reflection on the U.S.
Navy,” said PO1 Anibal Bello, “I like doing
projects for the schools because it gives me a chance to
talk to the kids. I have fun with the families. It’s
one way to say thanks for letting us be here.”
Ambassador Martin J.
Silverstein visited the school on Friday afternoon to greet
the sailors and thank them for their work in Uruguay. He
also spoke with the school director and other employees
of the school.
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| The
Martin Luther King School, before sailors from the USS
Bradley arrived. |
An
MLK classroom before the sailors and U.S.Embassy volunteers
turned it into a computer lab. |
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| Sailors build and secure the computer
lab. |
. Welders and electricans put their
skills to use on land. |
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| The school gets a good painting inside
and out..., |
thanks to the hard-working sailors
and school and embassy volunteers. |
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| Ambassador Martin J. Silverstein greets
some of the workers |
From left: Lt. Cmdr Tom McNerny, Cmdr
Mike Strano of the USS Bradley, MLK School Director
Carmen Lopez, Ambassador Silverstein in the new computer
lab. |
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| Sailors clean the statue of U.S. President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. |
The USS Bradley at the port of Montevideo |
