There have been questions about other little gifts to give elders as some of our GIs did for children in Iraq.
The locals my SIL is reaching out to are a totally different venue than what our men in Iraq have been able to do with citizens they met. In Farah, the contact is with the village leaders and is like a business meeting. They are going into family homes sometimes, yes, but the 'gifts' they carry are not so aimed at soliciting a smile or good will, they are tokens from leader to leader, unit commander to tribe elder. It is aimed less at families and children, more at the leaders themselves, sad as that seems. It's sort of like when they sat down to smoke a peace pipe during the Indian wars; women served, children were invisible. It's a cultural thing in this part of the world.
Also my DD tells me that the little items GIs used to give out in Iraq have actually been ordered stopped for some reason, not sure what that's all about.
Jan in VA