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FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq (April 4, 2008) - Many
schools in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division's
area of operation have been rebuilt through the efforts of
coalition forces.
There were a few schools though, such as the Manahel primary
school in Kutimiyah, which had eluded coalition assistance.
In the last two months, Soldiers at Joint Security Station W-1,
south of Kutimiyah, have reached out to the untouched area. They
have opened routes into the community and begun to assess the needs
of residents who felt left out of reconstruction efforts.
"They felt isolated because no one has been up there to start
projects, but that's changing," said Capt. Richard Aaron, commander
of Battery B, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf.
Div.
A recent route clearance operation brought Soldiers into the
community, changing that perception.
The condition Soldiers found the school in struck a chord with
1st Lt. Greg Highstrom, from Cedarburg, Wisc., a platoon leader
with Battery B.
Residents said al-Qaida insurgents used the school as a base of
operations for conducting missions against Soldiers at JSS W-1. The
insurgents destroyed the building when they left the area to
prevent its use by coalition forces.
Highstrom said students who attended class at the primary school
are now studying in a house lent by a nearby land owner. In five
rooms, each not more than 40 square meters in size, children attend
school five days a week from 8 a.m. until noon.
The seven teachers, helped move school desks into the temporary
building; however, when the school year ends in two months, the
owner of the house will return and the students will once again be
without classrooms.
The ministry of education, alerted to the situation facing the
students, has put in a request for government of Iraq funds to
rebuild the school.
In northern Kutimiyah, the Tatwir School, which had also been
damaged by insurgents, already has funding for reconstruction
approved thanks to the Soldiers' efforts.
One of the biggest concerns for Manahel primary school's
teachers, in addition to rebuilding the destroyed school house, is
rebuilding a bridge which leads to the main highway into Baghdad
from the south and connects the communities of Maderiyah and
Kutimiyah.
Aaron, a native of Middleboro, Mass., said the bridge allow
farmers of Kutimiyah easier access to markets where they sell their
crops.
Though details of the project haven't been finalized, Aaron said
people in both communities simply want life to return to
normal.
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