Congresswoman Torres travels to Afghanistan to remember female service members on Mother’s Day
Congresswoman Norma Torres joined a bipartisan group of Congresswomen on a trip to Afghanistan and Kuwait this month to celebrate Mother’s Day with female service members – and moms – who are away from their families.
The four Congresswomen delivered homemade Mother’s Day cards created by 16 third-graders at St. Joseph Elementary School in Pomona.
“As the mother of an Air Force veteran, I have an enormous amount of admiration for these dedicated women and the sacrifices they’ve made to keep our nation safe,” Torres said. “Let’s remember the many women whose service to our country keeps them thousands of miles away from their children.” Torres delivered the Mother’s Day cards at a Mother’s Day luncheon where the Congresswomen and female service members discussed the unique challenges facing women and mothers in the armed forces.
“I was grateful for the opportunity to speak face-to-face with our troops on the ground,” Torres said. “Hearing their experiences and getting a glimpse at their daily lives will be invaluable as Congress takes on difficult foreign policy and defense issues.” Torres told La Nueva Voz the commercial flight overseas took more than 15 hours each way. It was her first trip to the Middle East and Afghanistan as a member of Congress. During the trip, the Congresswomen also met with female Afghan parliamentarians and were briefed by military and civilian leadership in both Afghanistan and Kuwait on on-going operations in the region.
Dr. Claudia Godlewski, principal at St. Joseph Elementary, told La Nueva Voz her students completed the cards in a day and cited a quote from William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” when asked what the project meant to the students:
“How far that little candle throws its beams! So, shines a good deed in a naughty world.”
Torres, a Democrat from Pomona, traveled with Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego), Congresswoman Martha McSally (RAZ), and Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN).
Source: Issue No. 70, La Nueva Voz