Posted on 12/29/2009 4:40:31 PM PST by SandRat
Two Iraqi boys smile for the camera while recently visiting their new school in Ramadi. The Gulf Region District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers handed the school over to the Iraqi Ministry of Education this week. USACE photo.
RAMADI — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recognizes the importance of education and places a high priority on school projects as part of their reconstruction mission here.
With more than 1,135 school projects completed and operational, USACE finished and turned the Mazraa elementary school in the western city of Ramadi over to the Iraqi Ministry of Education this week.
Paul Ijames, project engineer for the Mazraa School and several other schools in Anbar providence, has been overseeing a variety of essential service projects in Iraq over the past 18 months.
“I’ve been involved with many things, but school projects like this are right at the top of the list since they provide many children access to an education they would otherwise not have been able to get,” said Ijames.
“We’re making a difference in people’s lives,” he added.
According to Ijames, one of reasons this project was so exceptional was due to the pride the Iraqi workers continued to display throughout the construction of the school.
“It’s their children, nephews and nieces, and other kids residing in that neighborhood who will be going to school there,” he said. “They now have a good environment in which they can learn.”
The new six-classroom school, which replaces an old two-room house, will accommodate up to 300 students and teachers. The school complex also includes administrative offices, a playground, guard house, backup generator, a security wall around the entire school property and a supply of necessary school furnishings.
Local leaders, residents as well as the children are excited about the completion of the new school.
Hamed, a 7-year-old boy, and his friend, who both will be students at the new school, stood at the entrance and said with a big smile, “This will be my school; thank you for giving me a new school.”
Beyond the bricks and mortar, school projects like this represent an investment in the future of Iraq--its children.
“You can see it in the smiles of the local residents who are diligently working every day to provide a brighter future for their children and grandchildren,” Ijames said. “They know that the key to success is hard work and education. Just like in the United States, their schools are the heart of their community – a place for hope.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq has completed thousands of reconstruction projects in partnership with the U.S. Government and the Government of Iraq. Since 2004, USACE has completed 5,257 projects throughout Iraq valued at more than $9.1 billion, and has 350 projects ongoing.
The older of the two elementaries in my school district is scheduled to be closed because the upkeep’s getting to be more than the building’s worth. Wish the Army Corps of Engineers would build a new school here, too. It would make a difference in people’s lives.
I wonder what they will be learning, or IF they will even BE learning. Has anyone ever heard what they’re teaching at these new schools?
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