Al Bawasil School reopening brings smiles to Iraqis

Photo By Sgt. Eddie Reyes | FOB KALSU, Iraq – An Iraqi contractor shows Capt. Colin Brooks, commander, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, a painting on a wall during a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the reopening of a local school Sept. 15 in Muelha.  

ISKANDARIYAH, IRAQ

09.28.2006

Story by Sgt. Eddie Reyes 

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

by Spc. Edgar Reyes
2nd BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.

FOB KALSU, Iraq – Soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 15 celebrating the re-opening of the Al Bawasil School in Muelha, a town in the northern Babil province, south of Baghdad.

A total of 150 workers were hired by a local Iraqi contractor to make complete renovations on the existing classrooms in the school and to build additional classrooms enabling the building to double as a primary and secondary school. The project took 100 days to complete and cost approximately $128,500 to fund.

Seven new classrooms were added to the school doubling the number of classrooms in the school. New electrical power systems, tiled floors and fans were installed. All of the other classrooms were given fresh coats of paint inside and outside, and tile floors replaced the dirt ones to which the students were accustomed.

"Everything we used for the school is made in Iraq and is of the highest quality available in the country," said Abdul Raza, Iraqi project contractor. "We took our time with this project and I ensured it received the best materials because the project is for the kids and the kids will be the future of Iraq someday."

Coalition Forces prefer to hire local contractors and workers from the area because it is in their best interest to do a good job because they live there, said Capt. Aaron Scheinberg, civil affairs officer, 2nd Bn., 8th Inf. Regt.

"It was easy for me to find workers because most of the people here do not have steady jobs," said Abdul. "The people actually thanked me for giving them a job. A lot of times we had to split the work between two different groups because there were so many people willing to work to make some money."

One of the main complaints from the citizens was the inconvenience of having their children walk approximately 10 miles to Haswah in order to attend a secondary school, since Muelha only contained a primary school, said Abdul. Students would drop out of school because of the distance and were prone to being coerced into terrorist activities.

Originally, CF did not participate in civil affairs projects in the area because of the high risk of roadside bombs and other terrorist attacks, said Scheinberg. During a meeting with the town council in the spring, CF civil affairs officers brought up the school problems to the council and asked for a stop to the violence in exchange for refurbishment of the school.

"When the people in the area noticed we made the school a priority, the violence stopped," said Sheinberg. "People in the town are excited and surrounding regions are envious of the improvements made in Muelha."

Imad Talal, a local sheik, expressed his gratitude to the Soldiers as the ceremony drew to an end. "The happiness I feel is not only for me but for the whole region, this is the first project here and it is of good quality, he said. This project will help a lot of people. It will allow students to stay in the same area, which is very new to us. There will be happiness in every home."

• Date Taken: 09.28.2006
• Date Posted: 09.28.2006 09:03
• Story ID: 7848
• Location: ISKANDARIYAH, IQ