Photo By Luis Delgadillo | Curious children take a break from class and scramble to the rooftops of their school...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Sgt. Luis Delgadillo
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Officer
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Baghdad province's rural services committee chairman visited leaders from three rural farming communities in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division area of operations, March 13.
The communities of Sayafiyah, Arab Jabour and Hawr Rajab conveyed the same message to chairman Sobhy al Mashhadani – streets are safer and local leaders are willing to work with the government of Iraq to receive assistance for infrastructure projects.
At the first stop, Mashhadani spoke at a meeting with sheiks from the community of Sayafiyah, located on the western bank of the Tigris River.
Mashhadani's second stop was a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Yusifiyah Pump Station 1 in Arab Jabour.
After their arrival in June, Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, set to work securing Arab Jabour and assisting with rebuilding the area's critical infrastructure. One of the area's most important projects was the repair and refurbishment of Yusifiyah Water Pump Station 1.
With the majority of Arab Jabour residents dependent on water to keep their farms running, the three remaining functional pumps barely provided enough water to keep its canal system full.
Avoiding bureaucratic delays, coalition forces worked directly with the ministry of irrigation and hired contractors to deliver, repair and emplace the new pumps. Nine of the 12 pumps were open at the time of the ribbon cutting.
The chairman also visited Patrol Base Hawkes and met with Rashid District's Iraqi police chief, Lt. Col. Muhammed, who was conducting the last day of a four-day IP recruiting drive. The drive was the first-ever for the region.
Mashhadani's last stop was Hawr Rajab, where he met students at the Village of Hope, a vocational school designed to train citizens in the basics of construction.
He spoke to the group of more than 50 students to reinforce the importance of self-sufficiency and reconstruction.
While in Hawr Rajab, Mashhadani also toured a school in session and a school and medical clinic in their final days of reconstruction. Though the school and clinic are being renovated with coalition funds, plans are in the works to have the ministries of education and health staff the facilities.
Though these rural communities have tribal and community leaders who cooperate with coalition forces to take care of security and emergency relief projects, many of the rural communities lack official representation from the GoI.
Hussein Shaho, bilingual, bicultural adviser with the Baghdad-7 embedded provincial reconstruction team, said larger councils such as the Rashid District council, which is responsible for many of the communities in the 2nd BCT area of operations, are making strides establishing ties with sheiks and tribal leaders.
Prior to the arrival of the 2nd BCT, Shaho said the Rashid District council was unable to reach residents in the area south of Baghdad because of al-Qaida's overwhelming presence in the area.
In a display of solidarity with the people of the farming communities, Mashhadani's message was that the fledgling community governance councils do matter and that they would have a voice.
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2008 16:53 |
| Story ID: | 17462 |
| Location: | ISKANDARIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 96 |
| Downloads: | 86 |
This work, Chairman of Baghdad province rural projects committee visits 2nd BCT AO, by Luis Delgadillo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
