Battalion helps improve sports club for disabled Iraqis

Courtesy Photo | BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi citizens play basketball at the Wisam Almajd Club for Sport of Disabled, a recreation center that was built by community leaders along with the U.S. Army. The 448th Civil Affairs Brigade has made improving the sports club an ongoing project.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

10.11.2005

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub       

Spc. Derek Del Rosario

Task Force Baghdad PAO



BAGHDAD -- Baghdad residents who are mobility impaired or have other disabilities now have a place to gather for sport and recreation thanks to the ongoing efforts of community leaders and the U.S. Army.

The Wisam Almajd Club for Sport of the Disabled is a center where people who use wheelchairs and individuals with disabilities can play basketball, fence or lift weights.

The 448th Civil Affairs Battalion has assisted a continuing effort to improve the center by adding a kitchen to the sports club. This addition was commemorated during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the club Sept. 25.

The sports club has a full basketball court with bleachers, a gym with exercise equipment, free weights, and now a kitchen for patrons to enjoy.

Sgt. 1st Class Dennis O'Connor, a member of the civil affairs battalion and an Appleton, Wis., native, acted as a project manager and met with community leaders to improve the center.

"This is an ongoing project that was built from the ground up," O'Connor said. "This is an organization whose participants are very active and get involved with projects involving the community."

While the sports club is open to anyone who wants to use its facilities, it is also the place where a wheelchair basketball team practices and a power-lifting team trains.

"The sports club welcomes everyone, and every time I visit I see new faces. There are usually around 30 to 40 participants on a given day," O'Connor said. "They are really big on their sports, and they are really proud. They often show me their ribbons and awards."

Mohamed Abass is one club member who competes in power-lifting competitions. While he uses a wheelchair to aid in mobility, he doesn't need it for the bench press. Abass can lift 352 pounds"almost three times his body weight.

"I've been working out here for the past four years," Abass said. "This (club) is the only place for the disabled in Baghdad, and probably the only place in Iraq."

The battalion has completed other projects that help the community near the recreation center. They have filled potholes, upgraded parks by planting trees and built swings, benches and tables. They have also built a railroad crossing. More projects to improve the community are in the planning stages.

"I see a lot of Iraqi kids riding their bikes in the streets, so we are trying to get a bicycle track built," O'Connor said. "We are also looking into building a family picnic ground with a gazebo and a fountain for families to enjoy."

While O'Connor gets a lot of satisfaction from serving the Iraqi community, he tries to let everyone know that club users are just as thankful to their own Iraqi people as they are to the U.S. Army.

"(It's gratifying) when kids come up and say, "Thanks, we needed this." It's a good feeling to see the smile on people's faces," O'Connor said. "Everyone is very appreciative and can't stop saying thank you. I tell them to thank their council members'they are the real people who did it for them."

• Date Taken: 10.11.2005
• Date Posted: 10.11.2005 17:36
• Story ID: 3283
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ