This hasn't been in the Washington Post or on NBC, so I figured I'd better post
it so y'all could see it. [Note: There are no bloody, dead bodies. If you need
that for a turn-on, don't read any further!]

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Vast School Renovation Effort Rekindles Hope

By Alicia Embrey, Gulf Region Central District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

BAGHDAD, Iraq-- After years of sending their children to badly neglected,
rundown, and outdated schools, the parents of school-aged children in Sadr City
are finding hope. Through the combined efforts of the Iraqi Ministry of
Education and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the renovation of thirty
neighborhood schools will be completed by mid-February 2005. According to Travis
Lynch, USACE project engineer, “Plans are in place to rekindle the country’s
aging educational buildings.”

New metal, concrete, and masonry security fences, roof repairs, gutters,
foundations, and exterior walls are at the top of the schools’ repair lists.
“Interior work includes bathroom plumbing, electrical rehab, walls, ceilings,
stairs, and mosaic floor construction,” said Lynch.

The work, however, will not end with structural, plumbing, and electrical
improvements. An acceptable environment for the estimated thirty thousand
students attending the thirty local schools depends on much more than repairing
security fences, walls, roofs, and plumbing. “We’re also building playgrounds,
adding new blackboards, heaters, lockers, students’ and teachers’ desks,
couches, chairs, and lab stools,” Lynch said.

Under Saddam Hussein’s rule, Sadr City, the infamous Shi’a ghetto received
minimal positive attention. Although originally named Saddam City in his honor,
the dictator refused to invest in and develop this city of over three million
residents. The area has since taken the name of the revered Shi’a spiritual
leader, the Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr, who was executed in
1980. Today, a painted sign at the entrance reads, “Welcome to Al-Sadr City.”

According to residents of Sadr City, Saddam took all of the skilled teachers
from the city’s schools and placed them in schools where Ba’athist children
studied. Without routine maintenance, the schools quickly fell into disrepair
and decay – a situation that faces improvement in the near future.

School repairs and renovations are only part of the overall reconstruction
effort in Sadr City. The USACE is working with local contractors to construct
and repair healthcare centers, sewage treatment plants, electrical and water
distribution systems, roads, and police and fire stations – each important
endeavors in the rebuilding of Iraq’s infrastructure.
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John H

On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD,
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it."
Rene Descartes