First Lady, President Speak About Afghan Educational Aid
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From Alexandria, Virginia, the first lady now with the honors today to introduce her husband. We will take you there now live.</s>LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: ... and they feel the shame of being different from their more fortunate classmates who do have uniforms to wear to school. When you give a child a uniform, you're giving her family another incentive to send her to school. These uniforms are gifts that represent one less financial burden for families. The goal is to make uniforms for more than 3 million girls and boys. By sewing these uniforms, Afghan seamstresses, many of them widows, will be providing for their families -- some for the first time in years. These women are contributing to the reorganization of Afghan schools that are rebuilding, literally, from the ground up. Every stitch contributes to the great patchwork of support and stabilization for the people of Afghanistan. An Afghan women I met named Forita (ph) said that when she was a child living in a refugee camp in Pakistan, she and her five sisters received uniforms through a relief organization. She said, "We were so joyous and so happy to receive the clothes. We wore one dress for four to five years. We didn't feel like we were poor. We felt like we were seen in an equal light, and we knew that our family would not have to worry about paying for our uniforms." She thanked me for helping support this back-to-school project, and I'm very proud to share her thanks with Vital Voices, who organized this project at Sima's request and solicited all the partners. This is a global partnership that has truly been a vital voice for Afghan women and children. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, for the Labor Department's job creation role in this project. Liz Claiborne for providing a half a million yards of fabric gathered throughout Asia. Springs Industries for providing fabric. L.L. Bean, Inc., for providing shoes, jackets and blankets. Bass & Co., New Balance, Sabago and Timberland for providing shoes. Sara Lee Corp. for providing socks. General Motors and Wal-Mart for their financial support. And J.R. United of Miami for providing sewing machines and fabrics through their commercial partners in Pakistan. Will the representatives from these organizations please stand so we can recognize you?</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, Laura, for that warm introduction. I appreciate what a fine job she's doing as the first lady. She's a pretty calm voice in turbulent times for our country, and I'm lucky to be married to her. I want to thank all the Tucker Tigers for letting me come by to say hello. Gosh, it's good to see you all. I want to thank the fact that you understand that you can make a big difference in somebody's life, that you can help a boy and girl who needs help. And you've done a darn good job. I understand you raised $2,500. That's a lot of money to raise. But you did it by reading books. So you accomplish two things. One, you helped somebody in Afghanistan who needs your help. And secondly, you practiced reading, which is one of the most important things you can do. I hope you read more than you watch TV.</s>HEMMER: The first couple today doing the honors there, in Alexandria, Virginia, at an elementary school, Samuel W. Tucker School, in Alexandria. The Afghan School Aid Package was the purpose for this visit, with the Bushes here now, off to Mexico. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com