Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy | Khalid Shiltagh, head of Northern Provincial Construction, shakes hands with sheik...... read more read more
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By Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
CAMP STRIKER, Iraq – Government of Iraq officials visited the Village of Hope training center at Patrol Base Stone near Hawr Rajab for the first time, Aug. 25, 2008.
Khalid Shiltagh, head of Northern Provincial Construction and Husaiyn Mazid Husaiyn, Ministry of Construction Housing deputy general for planning, made the trip to see the progress at the center and what could be a model for the rest of the country.
"The visit showed the people of Hawr Rajab that someone in the government cares and is willing to help them and continue with improvements," said Capt. Gregory Curry, Troop A commander, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, attached to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
"They were able to see for the first time ... the people in town have really worked hard to eradicate any (al-Qaeda) elements from the area," he said.
Two classes have already graduated. The third Village of Hope class of 57 students graduated Aug. 28, 2008. A fourth class of approximately 60 students began Aug. 31, 2008 and will graduate Sep. 25, 2008.
"What we are trying to accomplish here ... is to teach the people job skills that will enable them to rebuild their country," said Curry.
Training at the center begins with classroom instruction. Students then participate in on-the-job training in electrical engineering, carpentry and plumbing. The top students are invited back for a supervisors' course.
Once the students graduate, they work on projects in Hawr Rajab. Graduates of the training center have finished the Hawr Rajab Girls' School, complete with internet access and labs for physics and biology. The Hawr Rajab Boys' School and a house previously used as a city council building are now under construction.
"The idea was to show them the success we have and that the program works," said Air Force Capt. Michael Askegren, 557th Expeditionary Red Horse Squadron officer-in-charge of the Village of Hope. "We've set the pilot program for them to replicate across Iraq. We just need them to believe in it, step up and take over."
Shiltagh said he was impressed with the Village of Hope and the growth Hawr Rajab has seen over the past nine months.
As a testament to the improved security in the area, Shiltagh and Husaiyn walked with coalition forces through the small town to see the progress first hand. The group visited the sites where the former students are now working.
"The Village of Hope has been a very successful program," said 1st Sgt. Carl Parker, Troop A, 6th Sqdn., 8th Cav. Regt.
The area was dangerous when the unit arrived in late November, early December 2007.
"Then, (the Sons of Iraq) came in and pretty much fixed everything. The Village of Hope came in and started employing the people so they didn't go back to their old ways," Parker said.
The head sheik and Hawr Rajab City Council Chairman sheik Mahir echoed those sentiments.
The "(Village of Hope) is very good for now and the future of this area," Mahir said. "We got rid of the unemployment and it helped build careers, which is better than these men sitting down and doing nothing."
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 09.01.2008 11:36 |
| Story ID: | 23084 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 268 |
| Downloads: | 222 |
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