President Bush has asked the children of America to join in a special effort to help the children of Afghanistan.
"Their country has been through a great deal of war and suffering," the president said in a broadcast message from the White House Thursday. "Many children there," he said,"are starving and severely malnourished."
"One in three Afghan children is an orphan," Mr. Bush said, "and we can and must help them."
The president asked America's children to contribute to a special fund, supervised by the Red Cross, that will send food and medicine to children in Afghanistan.
He suggested each child should give one dollar to the special fund.
By acting now, the president says, American children can help Afghan children prepare for and survive the fast-approaching winter.
Mr. Bush told children they could send their contributions to "America's Fund for Afghan Children" at the White House in Washington, D-C.