Girls in the Al Amal 4-H Club giggle as they recite the 4-H pledge and the Iraqi national anthem Aug. 7 at the beginning of a meeting in Baghdad. The Al Amal 4-H Club, founded in June, has already given the children opportunities to visit local museums, plant trees for their community and begin to learn skills relating to animal care and computers. Photo by Pfc. Emily Knitter

A cartoon image of a sheep is projected onto a white wall, with arrows pointing to different areas around its body. The room is filled with children staring intently at the wall, who excitedly raise their hands when they know the name of one of the parts.

For these children, this is now a typical Saturday afternoon. But for Iraq, this represents how far the country has come, and how bright the future is. They are part of the Al Amal 4-H Club, the first of its kind in Baghdad, and one of very few in Iraq.

The 4-H club is widely popular in the United States, with more than 6 million members across the country, according to the national 4-H website. The club focuses on educating young people in three areas: healthy living, community service and science, engineering and technology.

Having a program similar to that in Iraq means a lot to the reforming country.

“The children are the future,” said Mary Kerstetter, agricultural adviser for the Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team in Southern Baghdad, and one of the ePRT advisers who spearheaded the creation of the Iraqi 4-H clubs. “By teaching them how to take better care of their sheep and to use laptops, among other things, they will be a step ahead and will be better prepared to take care of their families in the future.”

The Al Amal 4-H Club was created in June and most of the members heard about the club through word of mouth. The children are already learning skills in agriculture, computer operations, public speaking, community service and leadership.

Although Kerstetter played an important role in the creation of these clubs, the children and adult volunteers have begun taking over most of the operations, planning activities for the club and community service opportunities.

“We planted trees by a school to help the community,” said Abdullah, a member of the club, “Everything we do, we do as a group. The work felt important, and I like feeling like I belong to something.”

Members of the Al Amal 4-H Club talk about their new project books, in which they have to record all the work they are doing with their sheep, Aug. 7 during a meeting in Baghdad. The members are each given a ewe to raise and care for as part of the club, which along with focusing on animal husbandry teaches the children valuable skills in leadership, public speaking and community service. Photo by Pfc. Emily Knitter

Among all the children, unity is a positive point for being a member of the club.

“I like everything (about the club),” said Rusul, a girl in the club. “But the anthems are my favorite part, the 4-H pledge and the national anthem. Because the club pledge is part of the club, and the national anthem is part of my country.”

The pledge and anthem are recited at the beginning of each meeting to remind the members what the club is about, and to honor their country.

The 4-H pledge explains the meaning behind each “H” in the name.

As the children stand during the beginning of the meetings, and look at papers with the words translated to Arabic, they recite: “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to greater service and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country and my world.”

Girls in the Al Amal 4-H Club laugh as they look through cartoon books illustrating proper first aid procedures during a meeting Aug. 7 in Baghdad. The members of the club, founded in June, have already planted trees at a near by school, visited a local art museum and begun learning about animal care and computer operations. Photo by Pfc. Emily Knitter

One of the main focuses of this club is sheep. Each member was given a ewe to raise and care for. Each ewe is tagged so the club can account for the animal easily, and to protect the sheep.

“The culture here is unique,” Kerstetter said. “I have been told there may have been a problem with parents trying to sell the children’s sheep. My main goal is to protect the children, and this was an easy way to identify their sheep.”

The members also agree to donate the first baby their sheep has back to the club, so another member can have one as well.

The children are really excited to care for the sheep.

“I haven’t gotten a ewe yet, but it should be really fun because I have never taken care of a sheep before,” said Yousif, another member of the club.

Yousif is also the media officer for the club, which means he creates slide presentations of important activities they have done. Yousif said he likes to explore the computers, and that he knew about computers a little before he joined the club, but not about slide presentations.

The club has created hats and T-shirts with its logo on them, which some members wear to every meeting. The members also made coffee mugs, clocks and other promotional memorabilia to raise awareness of the club.

Already a success, there are plans to start more branches across the Baghdad area because the current club has a long waiting list of more children who want to participate.

The club allows the children to step out of their daily lives and do good deeds within their community while gaining valuable life lessons. In the past two months, the children have visited local museums, planted trees for their community and begun learning skills relating to animal care and computers.

As Iraq continues to become more stable and pushes towards freedom, it is programs like this that will support that growth, and begin developing the next generation of leaders for the country.

“I like everything (about the club),” Rusul said. “I want to keep being big part of it, and do a lot more community work because that is a lot of fun.”

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Story by Pfc. Emily Knitter

Children rush toward a new school building before a school opening ceremony, March 2, in the village of Al Khanik, Iraq. Photo by Pfc. Cassandra Monroe

After joint efforts from both U.S. Army and Iraqi officials, a new school officially opened during a ceremony, March 2, in the village of Al Khanik, Iraq.

The school, which has been under construction for four months, was built with the village’s future in mind and to house the students in the growing community.

“The old school had only three classrooms, said Arif Jabbar Mutar, the chairman of Tikrit City Council. “It’s not enough to absorb all students from the village.”

With six classrooms, working latrines and two rooms for the teachers, this school will pave the way toward education. The new school has enough room to house 200, 6-to-12-year-old students and their teachers.

“We are so happy because we’re going to lead these kids to their right future,” said Khaled Hamad Yassin, the school’s headmaster. “We have to build their future. Education is very important for every single student over here. They have to understand, they have to learn, and they have to read. At this school, we can provide a better education and better future for the students. The success will have a higher percentage here than the old school.”

The ceremony included U.S. Army guests Lt. Col. Nora Marcos and Command Sgt. Maj. Byron Loyd, the Division Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division commander and command sergeant major.

The ceremony began with a formal ribbon cutting, signaling the school’s grand opening, which was eagerly met with joyous applause. Guests then moved back to their seats and listened as the 3ID Band played Iraq’s national anthem, while school children raised the Iraqi flag.

Following the raising of the flag, children performed various forms of entertainment, such as poems, songs and religious prayers, all met with great applause from the crowd.

Yassin, the headmaster, stood in front of the crowd and spoke words of encouragement for a brighter future for the children and for Iraq.

“The future will be very bright,” he said. “If the kids can have an education, the country will be very educated and have a much better future.”

Marcos echoed the headmaster.

“I just want to say what an honor it is to be here with you at the opening of this school,” she said. “Congratulations to the engineers and builders, who created this wonderful place, and I thank the provincial government for their support in this project.”

After the ceremony, Marcos took some time to make her way around the courtyard, speaking to guests and school children. Along with a crowd of eager children, she made her way around the new school to see the new classrooms. As soon as the children saw their new desks, coloring books and crayons they rushed toward them. Taking their seats for the first time in their new classrooms, Marcos joined the children at their desks and posed for a few photos.

“As the inspectors came during the building process, they said they’ve never seen something built so well, so quickly,” said Marcos.

The last stop on the tour included a room where some of the women and their children congregated.

“It really bridges a gap with these kids to see Soldiers here, giving and being a part of this,” she said. “It’s these ladies, who are teachers, seeing Soldiers helping and seeing a female involved … makes a difference.”

For Marcos though, this ceremony is a revisit to a book, she read when she first arrived here in Iraq.

“It’s about a guy who helped build schools in Pakistan and how the construction of schools and the education of children bridged cultural and religious gaps,” she said. She relates the book to the current situation here in Iraq and at the ceremony.

“That’s what we did here and will continue to do with every project and most importantly, every partnering opportunity we have with the Iraqis. We’re allowing the Iraqis to take the lead and develop some answers to their issues and put them forward where they should be.”

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Story by Pfc. Cassandra Monroe

Nearly 1,350 students walked into two newly refurbished primary school buildings in Umm Qasr where, school city and Coalition officials dedicated the projects’ completion Feb. 19.

The two U.S. funded operations, totaling $271,100, outfitted the Al Nashaa and Al Marfaa schools with new paint, windows, electrical systems, plumbing, reconditioned bathrooms, roofs and desks.

Umm Qasr Mayor Salah Abdul Mahdy Habeeb, Director of Education Salem Kamel Arrayed, Director of Power and Utilities Ahmed Resan Sharhan, town council members, members of the Iraqi Marines, Coalition civil affairs representatives and school staff and students were on hand for the occasion.

“Today we open this school to be the future light for the students,” said Abu Ali, headmaster of Al Marfaa. “The first three words of the Koran means to ‘read.’ The scripture says it wants everyone to be educated. Education is the duty of every Muslim person.”

Many schools in Iraq are in poor condition because of a lack of upkeep, to include Umm Qasr. The schools here suffered from leaky roofs, broken windows and desks that were splintered and falling apart and other structural problems.

“Our main reason for these restorations was to provide the children with a safe learning environment,” said Sgt. Adam Kirschner, the project manager from 42nd Military Police Brigade at Camp Bucca.

He said these projects started when community members brought the issue of reconstruction to the town’s council. The city officials worked with Coalition civil affairs teams to create a proposal and form a contract.

Kirschner said that projects like these are important to the future of Umm Qasr because the town is growing rapidly due to the economic development generated by the country’s only deep-water port there in town.

“Last time we met, this school was in bad condition. This time we are meeting because the school is like new,” Habeeb said. “We were successful because of the cooperation between, the town’s people, the council and the Coalition forces.”

So far seven schools in the area have been refurbished in the last 12 months with help from Kirschner’s unit. He said that Umm Qasr Secondary School is next on the list and should start in about two weeks.

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The Bakiryah School celebrated its reopening Jan. 4 in the Mansour District.

Dr. Nahad Abbas Shihab al-Juburi, Deputy Minister of Education for the Karkh district performed the ceremonial ribbon cutting for the event, which was also attended by Brig. Gen. Ghassan, commander, 54th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, as well as the commander of the 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, Lt. Col. Monty Willoughby and the deputy commanding officer of the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Lt. Col. Christopher Beckert.

“The school was overcrowded and through a local contractor we were able to build a new school building and house all of the students,” said Willoughby. “It will be a tremendous benefit for the students and it will increase their ability to learn.”

The atmosphere at the event was very joyous for the children as they gathered in the renovated courtyard before the ceremony to sing and listen as their classmates read poetry to the distinguished guests of the event.

“The most important thing that you saw today was real emotion,” said Beckert. “Today you saw real excitement on behalf of a community who takes the education of their children very seriously.”

The troopers of the 4th Sqdn., 10th Cav. Regt., who partner with the 54th Brigade to provide security for the Mansour district, have seen a marked improvement to the area during their time in northwest Baghdad.

“We’ve done a couple of different things here in accordance with the belladiyah,” said Willoughby. “We’ve helped put in solar street lights and we’ve done some revitalization of the market area through micro grants. Then we looked at the school and decided to help out to provide a little bit of community pride and gain some community support.”

Throughout the event the support of the community was evident not only in the large turnout but also in the festive mood created by the reopening.

After the ribbon cutting, the Iraqi leaders toured the school to get a better look at the renovations. Once the tour was complete a traditional Iraqi meal was served to cap off the event.

“The improved school in Bakiryah is very important because it breathes life back into the community,” said Beckert. “It also demonstrates the will of the Iraqi Army and the local community leaders to work together for a better Iraq.”

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