Projects_Vocational
Training Center
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| Besides the reutilization of the buildings - was the concept of helping people to help themselves. |
APN’s first project in Iraq was the reconstruction of the vocational training center Abu Ghraib in the beginning of 2002. The center is located in the suburbs of Baghdad; it was one of 11 centers in Iraq, all of them in need of reconstruction. Tools and machinery were either inadequate or completely missing. Therefore the students’ level of education was very low, as they had been deprived from any kind of modern technology for 20 years.
In a first step APN renovated the buildings, followed by the restoration of access roads, power facilities and sewer system. The furnishing of machinery proved to be more challenging. In the end, new machines were built by reassembling and welding together parts and scrap from old machines.
Another important aspect - besides the reutilization of the buildings - was the concept of helping people to help themselves.
During the war with Iran, which lasted for 8 years, and the 1991 Gulf war, most of Iraq’s technical infrastructure was destroyed, including the water supply network. Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait lead to UN sanctions in August 1990, and as a result there was no money for the repair of damages caused by the wars. In 2001, only 50 % of the urban population and 33 % of the rural population had access to drinking water. In Iraq, contaminated water is the main reason for a multitude of diseases, many of which are fatal, especially for children. The most recent war led to a complete collapse of the water and waste water systems.
In the summer of 2002, we trained six Iraqi experts in the repair and maintenance of water and waste water systems. In addition we created a mobile shop, which enables specially trained repair and maintenance teams to take care of the most urgent water and wastewater problems on the spot.
Today, Iraqi experts train 150 students to become specialists in welding and metal work, enabling them to contribute to the reconstruction of their country. “For ten years there has been no education in Iraq; here we can help our country and support our families”, one of the students remarks and points out an important goal of APN: we want to help the people to become economically independent.
Funding of the project: ECHO – European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office
Execution of the project: APN Baghdad
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