Micro-grants help ecomomic growth, support citizens in New Baghdad

Courtesy Photo | A female customer pays for food at a market in the New Baghdad District of eastern Baghdad, Nov. 10. Soldiers from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, patrolled the area to check on small-business owners to whom they had issued micro-grants to support their enterprises and support economic stability.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

11.24.2008

Courtesy Story

4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs

By the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – During the past year, United States forces have helped to stimulate the Iraqi economy through issuing micro-grants to local eastern Baghdad businesses.

As of Nov. 16, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division alone has processed 20 applications and handed out nearly $395,000 in the New Baghdad district, said 1st Lt. Grant White, a Co. C platoon leader from Sugar Land, Texas. There are at least 25 more applications still going through the investigations process, he explained.

"With every micro-grant we are able to complete, you can see a difference. Shop owners walk a little taller in the street when they are able to support their families properly and supply their neighbors with the merchandise they are demanding," commented White. "When the shop owners come to FOB [Forward Operating Base] Loyalty to receive their cash after their applications are complete, they are a bit hesitant at first. Then once we explain what is happening and hand them the stack of hundred dollar bills, they are breathless and it takes a second to let what just happened set in; $5,000 is a drop in the bucket to American business owners, but to a struggling Iraqi shop owner it is winning the lottery."

Co. C Soldiers recently patrolled Muhallas 740 and 744 to check on business owners to whom they have issued micro-grants. These small businesses include pharmacies, fruit stands, carpentry shops, fabrication shops, generator repair shops, sandwich shops, photography shops, medical clinics, bakeries, hardware and corner stores.

White emphasized that some of these shop owners have been able to hire additional workers who were previously unemployed. In addition, they were able to buy more merchandise that was unavailable to meet public demand in the past. Once they began to turn a profit, they were able to open another shop in either the same location to supply a different service or in a different location, he explained.

"We are providing basic fundamentals to the Iraqi economy; supply and demand. People demand resources to provide for their survival. We simply facilitate the primer to the process," said Sgt. Corious Thomas, a Co. C forward observer from Columbus, Ga. "Now when on patrol in a Muhalla, we don't see as many people standing outside their homes because they are at their new jobs."

Giving stability to residents who live near these shops creates a situation in which they are able to refuse support from the Special Groups criminals operating in the area, explained White. These citizens of New Baghdad are under constant pressure from special groups extremists to work for them by hiding caches, reporting Coalition Forces are in the area and supporting other criminal behaviors, he said.

"Being able to build a rapport with the local population is a valuable asset," expressed White. "The micro-grant process is working to discourage citizens from working for the enemy, showing them that there are alternative means of income other than helping those who are trying to harm them."

• Date Taken: 11.24.2008
• Date Posted: 11.24.2008 08:49
• Story ID: 26716
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ