See this report of the valuable work of Culture for All in Iraq.
Culture for All distributes non-food packages to over 12,000 internally displaced and extremely vulnerable individuals in Baghdad.
27 July 2009
Culture for All (CfA) completed a large non-food distribution initiative to support 2,000 severely impoverished families living in Sadr City, al Baweya, al Rashad and hay al Nasir neighborhoods in Baghdad.
Supporting 12,000 internally displaced and extremely vulnerable individuals across the 2,000 families targeted, CfA spent several weeks preparing and organizing the distribution program at three primary and secondary schools – Khawarnak primary school in Sadr City, al Fada’il secondary school in al Rashad and al Istiqlal primary school in al Baweya.
Distribution packages included health and hygiene items, household utensils, mats, toiletries, kitchenware and water purification units. Some 80% of recipients were made up of both women and children.
At the distribution sites, CfA utilized the support of a large number of volunteers, tribal and community leaders, ensuring that only extremely vulnerable families were targeted.
Beneficiaries were extremely thankful for the non-food items, informing CfA staff and volunteers that this had been the first major humanitarian distribution program for a number of years. Beneficiaries reminded staff that CfA had built community trust across a large number of stakeholders.
The initiative was covered by Iraq’s main newspaper, al Sabah and by several TV stations – see attached article in al Sabah newspaper dated 21st July 2009.
Other CfA projects in Iraq include:
-Ongoing support to over 10,000 Baghdad residents through a Citizens Advice Network – 5 citizens advice centers providing case-work and legal advice, vocational training, including back-to-school, health and rights-based lectures and seminars, computer training, first-aid training, adult literacy, a monthly newsletter publication, outreach support and sewing workshops.
CfA Citizens Advice Centers are located in Sadr City (Fallah Street), Naariya and Gayara (Baghdad Jadida, 9 Nissan district), al Zaafarniya, Abu Dsheer (al Dora district) and al Rusafa (Kifah street) in central Baghdad.
CfA is currently working with over 30 primary and secondary schools in Baghdad as part of the Citizens Advice Network and other programs.
-Publication of a monthly civil society magazine, al Sual (The Question).
-Teacher training – building the capacity of 100 Sadr City based teachers in classroom best practices and modern teaching methodologies – completed in May 2009.
-Completion of a conference and workshop on the topic of building partnerships between citizens and local district councils – completed in May 2009 (attended by over 300 delegates and participants)
-Female Adult literacy classes to 2,000 women in Sadr City and 9 Nissan districts.
Culture for All team
Baghdad, Iraq