Iraq Community Action Program

Even though the fall of Saddam Hussein in March 2003 brought hope for a brighter future and a rebirth of democracy, the Iraqi people were still left very vulnerable. Weakened health infrastructure, a damaged education system and high mortality rates resulted in widespread insecurity and civil unrest, constraining access to sustainable economic development.

The Iraq Community Action Program (ICAP), a USAID-funded project, was designed to promote citizen involvement in community development efforts at the grass-roots level and to prevent and mitigate potential conflict by empowering individuals across gender, ethnic and religious lines. The program, initially for one year, was aimed to promote diverse and representative citizen participation in and among 250 communities and to benefit approximately 5 million Iraqis. The goal of the ICAP was to foster stability and improve Iraqis' lives by ensuring that citizens' basic needs were met within their respective communities. The ICAP aimed to provide citizens with an opportunity to participate in decision-making related to the policies that govern their lives.

Working in the most insecure area of Iraq, Al Anbar Governorate, Counterpart International (Counterpart) mobilized 49 communities to implement 60 community development projects, including rehabilitating schools, constructing health centers, paving roads and developing IT and English language training centers. Local community and government contributions to the projects, which created over 7,000 jobs, accounted for 20 percent (nearly $370,000) of total funding.

Highlights:

• A total of 676 community development projects were completed in eight governorates in Iraq.
• Forty-seven co-operatives were established, mostly in the Sunni triangle, providing jobs and income, and demonstrating a new model of democratic ownership.
• Ninety-three community boards, undertaking projects and promoting local democracy, were successfully established.
• Training in business management skills was provided to cooperative members, women, youth and community group members.
• One hundred and six water and sanitation projects brought much needed water to some of Iraq's poorest villages and provided villages, towns and cities with safe means of waste disposal.
• Twenty residential quarters and villages were connected to the power grid, providing electricity for homes and businesses.

To learn more about Counterpart's Iraq Community Action Program, please read the following feature stories:

Homes Provided to 800 Families

Women Break New Ground in Falluja

 

 

 

Community Rehabilitation in Iraq

 

Many years of sanctions and conflict had taken their toll on housing and basic infrastructure in Iraqi cities. UN-HABITAT and Counterpart's Community Rehabilitation project addressed the rehabilitation of houses in run-down urban areas as well as severely dilapidated social housing complexes constructed over 30 years ago.
 
UN-HABITAT sought out the services of Counterpart in implementing a project to rehabilitate 600 houses in Kirkuk, Iraq. The objectives of the project were to improve the living standards of low-income groups through rehabilitation of houses and basic infrastructure, enhancing the capacity of small contractors and generation of income and employment.
 
The project rehabilitated close to 1,300 housing units in Baghdad, Samawa and Kirkuk, with a significant level of beneficiary participation especially in Baghdad and Kirkuk where individual housing units have been rehabilitated.
 
The houses were provided for the most vulnerable populations in At-Tamim Governorate in Northern Iraq in which for 30 years under the Ba'ath regime, there has been no new construction or rehabilitation of the physical and economic infrastructure.

 

 

 

Counterpart International Global Scholarship Program: "Leaders for a Sustainable Future"

Mushtaq Talib, an engineer for Counterpart in Iraq, was shot and killed by U.S. Forces in Khaldiya, Iraq on November 20th, 2006. Unarmed and unaware of U.S. Military Operations in the area, Mushtaq, along with a building contractor and the Khaldiya community representative were conducting a routine inspection of a health center, recently constructed by Counterpart when they came under fire.

Mushtaq, who had been with Counterpart for over a year and a half, was loved and respected by the Iraq staff, who described him as an intelligent, compassionate and well-respected member of the Ramadi community. Mushtaq leaves behind a legacy of tireless service and steadfastness to the people of Iraq through the numerous Counterpart supported infrastructure projects, which he designed and helped communities to build throughout Ramadi, Falluja, Khaldiya and other parts of Al Anbar Governorate.

Counterpart's Valentine's Day in 2006 raised over $5,500 for a scholarship in honor of Mushtaq Talib.

His name lives on through his family and friends who loved him, a health center he designed (which was later named after him) as well as through the Counterpart Global Scholarship Fund.

The scholarship empowered an engineering student to finish his education and begin to build a better world for himself and for fellow Iraqi citizens.

The Counterpart Global Scholarship seeks to empower young leaders by creating a sustainable future through education. Past recipients have included a woman studying business in Uzbekistan; a group of female students studying the effects of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Guyana; and a Senegalese woman from a rural village with dreams of higher education.

 

 

 

Distribution of Wheelchairs

 

Counterpart worked with the Wheelchair Foundation to provide 1,400 new wheelchairs to disabled residents of Northern Iraq, allowing individuals disabled by conflict, disease and birth defects to move more freely as they work, pray and go about their daily lives.

The physically disabled of Iraq must endure a lack of mobility, the inability to financially support themselves and their families, a lack of access to social services (health care, education, etc.) and the general stigma that they are no longer contributing members of society.

In July and August 2007, six 40-foot containers of new wheelchairs, provided by the Wheelchair Foundation and valued at over $100,000, were delivered to Iraq. Counterpart's network of Iraqi NGOs played an invaluable role in both identifying recipients and undertaking the distribution of the wheelchairs to them.

The benefits for the Iraqis who received new wheelchairs include, but are not limited to: increased and dependable mobility from a new and well-built wheelchair; a reduction of the social stigma surrounding disabled Iraqis who often have to rely on old crutches or self-constructed devices to move around; and an enhanced sense of pride and self-reliance among the recipients.

 

 

 

IDP Return and Resettlement in Makhmur, Iraq

 

Counterpart worked to resettle the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) of the Kandal Yarmija village in Makhmur District, Erbil Governorate, Iraq. Living in temporary shelters, these 34 families were in dire need of permanent housing and a sustainable income. Counterpart realized the need, and they responded in a manner that was cost efficient, energy efficient, sustainable, utilized local resources and was easy to construct.

 

Three techniques were used:

1. Training of IDP laborers in the building of straw-bale housing structures and also on earth works that serves as water reservoir (small dams)
2. Construction of straw-bale housing for IDP residents in this village
3. Basic training for income generation and community gardening.

These techniques promoted effective Iraqi implementation of straw-bale housing initiatives - a clear move away from traditional concrete construction.

 

Counterpart's project increased the sustainable rehabilitation and development, while introducing the concept of Permaculture to the village.

 

To learn more about Counterpart's IDP Return and Resettlement Project, please visit the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia's page on Counterpart's project.