Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Meadows | From left, Hato Abdul Hassan, 9 Nissan District council chairman; Maj. Christopher...... read more read more
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By Staff Sgt. Matt Meadows
4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division
BAGHDAD – Local officials in the 9 Nissan District in eastern Baghdad pulled out their scissors and ribbon, July 22, but they weren't wrapping up a present. Or were they?
Thousands of Iraqi children in first through sixth grades living in 9 Nissan now have the shiny new Al Ferdous elementary school to attend in Muhalla 736 this fall.
Students, parents, 9 Nissan District council members, a construction contractor and leaders from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 418th Civil Affairs Battalion and 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad came together for the grand opening. News crews from five Arab media outlets covered the grand opening, including Afaq TV, AP TV, Al-Massar TV, Al- Watan TV and Voice of Iraq radio.
Hato Abdul Hassan, 9 Nissan District council chairman, cut the ribbon officially opening the school.
He said building Al Ferdous elementary school, and constructing new and renovating existing schools, is only one of many serious efforts to improve 9 Nissan. Local leaders are working hard on other projects, which include cleaning neighborhoods, providing purified water and increasing electricity service, he explained.
"It was really great travelling here. We wish to build schools like this in different places too," said Hassan, citing Kamaliyah, Beladiyat and other areas. He thanked local ministry of education officials for their efforts; Iraqi Brig. Gen. Ali Ibraheem Dabown, commander of 8th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, for cooperating with the district council; and the Al Sald Company for doing such a great job in constructing the school. They were building the school for their children too, he commented. "Thank you to everyone who did this job ... in 9 Nissan, [and]thank you to everyone who came here to open this project," he concluded.
The new school will provide elementary education to approximately 2,000 children, according a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers document. The contract and design are unique in that Al Ferdous is the second of three new schools for which the contract included modern amenities such as a generator, playground equipment, air conditioners and all the furniture required to provide a fully functional school.
The Al Neel elementary school of the same basic design officially opened in the Rusafa District of Baghdad, July 17, and a third elementary school is expected to open late this month or early August in Muhalla 333 of Adhamiyah, according to the Corps of Engineers. Before these three schools were contracted and designed, construction contracts for schools in the area only included building the structures, citing in the document.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Al Sald Co. the contract for constructing Al Ferdous elementary school, and with a budget of nearly $800,000, they began building the school, Sept. 29, 2007. The complex includes a two-story building containing 12 classrooms, an administration building, a workshop, a guard building and a separate bathroom building. In addition, the school grounds have playground equipment and courts for playing volleyball and basketball.
"From the coalition [and] from the Army Corps of Engineers, we would like to say thank you for working together with the coalition in order to provide something of this magnitude to the district of 9 Nissan, to Baghdad and to Iraq," said Maj. Robert Culberson, officer-in charge of the Forward Operating Base Loyalty resident office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from Gulfport, Miss. "This is something that is going to greatly enhance the education of students in 9 Nissan. It gives the kids something to be proud of. When they come to school they know they are going to be in a nice environment, something very conducive to learning."
| Date Taken: | 07.22.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2008 08:45 |
| Story ID: | 21771 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 438 |
| Downloads: | 358 |
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