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FOB KALSU, Iraq (June 16, 2008) - For schoolchildren in the
southern Baghdad area, getting an education has become a difficult
and even dangerous prospect in recent years. In some cases,
supplies were short and facilities were in disrepair. Sometimes the
teachers weren't there. In a few cases, the schools themselves were
all but gone.
The area where the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat
Team arrived in June 2007 had long been an insurgent stronghold,
with many villages controlled by al-Qaeda terrorists who kept
children, especially girls, from attending school. With no
coalition or Iraqi security forces presence, local schools suffered
the same fate as many farms and businesses in the area. They were
looted and damaged, and even became battlegrounds.
"About two years ago, the Ministry of Education ordered all of
the teachers out of the rural areas because the security situation
was so bad," said Army Capt. Trista Mustaine, education advisor to
the Baghdad 7 embedded provincial reconstruction team, which works
with 2nd BCT soldiers to rebuild the local infrastructure and
economy.
The area is now more secure than it has been in years, with
Iraqi soldiers and police establishing a presence and preparing to
hold gains made by 2nd BCT, which is scheduled to redeploy in
July.
In addition to repairing critical infrastructure and breathing
new life into the damaged economy, the 2nd BCT and Baghdad 7
embedded PRT have spent millions to keep schools open and make it
possible for children to pursue an education.
With the school year now over for children in the area, it's a
chance for workers to complete renovations and building projects
throughout the 2nd BCT's area of operation.
Perhaps the most intense activity is in the "Banshee" area of
operations, which belongs to soldiers of Battery B, 1st Battalion,
9th Field Artillery. Four school-improvement projects are under way
in their sector, with a combined estimated cost of more than $1
million.
When the soldiers came into the area, they set up Joint Security
Site W-1 at the site of Hader School, said Army Capt. Richard
Aaron, battery commander.
"When we first moved into the [area] in June of last year, it
was initially going to be a temporary patrol base," said Aaron, a
native of Middleboro, Mass. "School was out of session, and it was
a secure building we could use."
The nearby Menahay School was occupied by al-Qaeda insurgents,
who eventually destroyed it using homemade explosives. Students of
Tatwir School suffered worse, as al-Qaida operatives rigged the
school with explosives, thinking Americans would come there to
occupy it, Aaron said. The soldiers cleared the school, losing an
explosives-clearing in the process.
With no schoolhouse to go to, students of Menahay School took
classes in a private home, with local volunteers serving as
teachers.
"A lot of them were former teachers, some without credentials,
but who had been teaching in the past. They had the books, and they
just volunteered to help out," Aaron said.
Mustaine said that in the absence of licensed teachers,
volunteers have helped out in other areas, too. Like many other
Iraqi public servants, they often worked for long periods without
being paid. In some cases, members of the local "Sons of Iraq"
citizen security group paid them.
A new school to replace the Hader School is being built 200
meters from the original site. The estimated cost for that project
is $500,000. In total, more than $2.2 million has been spent so far
on schools from Commander's Emergency Response Program funds
administered by 2nd BCT, with another $500,000 worth of projects
currently funded.
Although reconstruction costs largely have been provided by
coalition forces up to now, the Iraqi government is taking up the
task and helping get local schools repaired and reopened before the
next school year begins.
In Sayifiyah, the Maahmoon School is being renovated with Iraqi
government funding from the Baghdad Provincial Council, the only
school in 2nd BCT's area to receive such funding. Budget execution
for projects has been a problem for Iraqi government ministries
across the board, Mustaine said. Fortunately, a new line of funding
has come through for schools in the form of the Iraqi Commander's
Emergency Response Program, which uses Iraqi government money
within the framework of the coalition's Commander's Emergency
Response Program.
"I think the biggest success in capacity building is I-CERP,"
Mustaine said. "It's Iraqi money, filtered through the U.S.
Treasury and implemented jointly by coalition forces and the [Iraqi
government]. It's a step toward building capacity and gets [the
Iraqi government] spending their own money. Currently, we have
eight schools funded with I-CERP and three pending funding."
I-CERP is currently providing more than $980,000 for school
projects in the area.
At the Alemia School in Arab Jabour, I-CERP is helping to finish
what coalition and community efforts started. Like Tatwir School,
Alemia School was damaged by insurgents, who looted equipment and
left explosives behind.
Within days after soldiers cleared out the school, students were
back in class, but lots of work remained to be done, said Army
Capt. James Anthony, commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 30th
Infantry Regiment.
"We did some minor repairs, just to keep the school going,
fixing windows and doors," said Anthony, a native of Byhalia, Miss.
Former teachers came back to teach, working for free at first,
until Iraq's Education Ministry stepped up to cover their
salaries.
After getting teachers paid, the next big challenge was getting
the extensive damage repaired. I-CERP committed $445,000 to pay for
the work, and repairs are scheduled to be completed in August.
Anthony said it has been a community effort from the start.
"One of the great things about the contractor working at this
school is that he has taken a lot of workers from the area."
Anthony said. "You have a lot of people from the community actually
working on the school that their children attend."
As he and his soldiers near redeployment in July, Aaron said, he
feels good about the work they have done. "We've made a huge impact
on the community with the school, and with other projects we've
done," he said.
Now that the area is safe again and schools are getting the
attention they need, the Iraqi government is ready to re-invest in
a more significant way.
"As of about a month ago, the Ministry of Education has ordered
the teachers to return to their rural schools," Mustaine said.
Thanks to gains made by 2nd Brigade Combat Team, she said,
government officials can work freely in the area to make sure their
schools have what they need to teach the children.
"Our goal is to provide accessible education for everyone. We
have started the ball rolling, and the [Iraqi government] will keep
it going in the future," she said.
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