MOSUL, Iraq-- On every street corner in Mosul, Iraq, there is a young child with a pack of cigarettes, tissues, sodas or some other item to sell to drivers as they wait for the traffic signal to turn from red to green. They approach car windows begging passengers to buy their goods. Some of these children work as many as 12 hours to be rewarded at the end of the day with only a dollar.
Many may wonder why these children aren't in school. War and poverty have left many of Iraq's children fatherless, forcing them to leave their studies at a young age to care for their families. An organization started by a Soldier who recently returned from Iraq is bringing attention to the plight of young Iraqi children who must work to support their families and cannot attend school.
Spc. Dave McCorkle served with the 318th Psychological Operations Company in Mosul last year. During his visits to the city, he befriended a local child who sold cigarettes on the streets and changed this boy's life by offering to pay his family $60 each month in return for a promise that the boy go to school. This encounter had such a profound effect on McCorkle's life, he decided to start a non-profit organization, offering people around the world the opportunity to give an Iraqi child the chance at an education by donating enough money each month to sustain the child's family while he attends school.
His organization, American Aid for the Children of Ninevah, Iraq, has helped more than 40 Iraqi children since February through the donations of their sponsors, many of whom are active duty and reserve servicemembers or military retirees. McCorkle feels that Soldiers are especially drawn toward helping these children because they care deeply for the people of Iraq.
"Soldiers want their efforts and sacrifices to result in something good and worthwhile," said McCorkle. "They have seen the suffering here and they want it to end for the innocent people, especially for the children."
Maybe they can't solve all of the problems in Iraq themselves, but through this program, service members can immediately impact the life of one Iraqi child or one Iraqi family and feel like they have made a difference.
Children under 15 make up almost half of the population of Iraq, but according to the United Nations Children's Fund, an estimated 20 percent of these children do not attend school. Education in Iraq was not always in this condition. Prior to the reign of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's education system was comparable with most developed nations. According to UNICEF, enrollment in primary school in Iraq reached almost 100 percent in the early 1980's. However, after two decades of war, school enrollment dropped to just 50 percent.
The effects of sanctions and misuse of the Oil for Food program under the reign of Saddam Hussein left many Iraqi families impoverished and malnourished. Coupled with the effects of war, many children have grown up knowing only hunger and poverty. In a society where women are just beginning to be accepted into the workforce, working isn't always an option for a widowed mother with many children to care for. The role of wage-earner is left to the older children. Forced to grow up early to take on the roles of their parents, they do what they can to make money for their families, oftentimes selling cigarettes and other items on the street. The sum of $60 a month can be a tremendous help to a family in Iraq.
"This amount should be sufficient to make up the income lost by the child not working to attend school as well as ensuring the child and the family has food and basic needs," said McCorkle.
After seeing an interview on CNN about this program, one Marine who will be deployed to Iraq thought about his nieces and nephews at home and decided to participate because he felt he could do something good for a kid who had no one to do something for him. McCorkle thought of his own son when he saw the children in Iraq. "I think a big part of my heart went out to Yahia, the boy I am sponsoring, because he was the same age as my son and it made me wonder, what if my son had to work on the streets like Yahia just to have food to eat," he remembers.
"Children in Iraq want to go to school and for most it seems to be their greatest dream," said McCorkle.
Education is the key to a brighter future for Iraq. With a proper education, children become more productive citizens and better able to contribute to the progress of this great nation.
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| Date Taken: | 09.15.2004 |
| Date Posted: | 09.15.2004 10:46 |
| Story ID: | 366 |
| Location: | MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 63 |
| Downloads: | 28 |
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