Empowering citizens Engaging governments Rebuilding communities

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“ The community believed in what we were doing and in our ability to help” —Iqbal al-Juboori 1 Building community trust supply equipment as long as the recipient maintained consistent production. “You have to learn to be a tailor,” she told the widow. “If you’re good, and if you learn, then we’re going to come back and monitor you, and we’re going to ask you how much you’re selling.” This process was an established part of the ICAP program. But a more immediate problem quickly became apparent—the house was so small, there was no place to put the equipment. “All I have is this house,” the widow said. “And it’s only one room. So where am I going to do this?” IRD had access to revenue-generating equipment, procedures in place to disburse grants, and a results-based system of accountability to maximize a beneficiary’s chance at success. If an issue required a programmatic solution, IRD had an answer. But overcoming the physical limitations of poverty and an overcrowded one-room house? That was another issue entirely. Still, IRD found a solution. Once the widow’s friends and neighbors learned of her plight, they got together and found a workspace to donate, provided IRD followed through with giving her the grant. “The community believed in what we were doing,” al-Juboori said, “and in our ability to help. She got the grant, and then she learned to sew.” The widow began selling coats, and over the course of the grants process, IRD workers delighted in watching her grow professionally and personally. “The first time she received actual money from one of her coats, she came to me, crying, and she hugged me,” al-Juboori said. “And she looked at me and said, ‘I’ve struggled for my whole life, and no one has ever helped me like this. I don’t feel alone anymore.’” ICAP: The first step to rebuilding civil society Often called the cradle of civilization, modern day Iraq is a country steeped in rich cultural and historical heritage. Ancient Mesopotamia gave rise to some of the world’s earliest cities, including Hatra, the capital of the first Arab kingdom, and it’s where agriculture was born. The region boasted accomplishments in the arts, agriculture, architecture, law, and medicine. But Iraq’s rich heritage proved of little value for much of the twentieth century, as political turbulence and war took a severe toll. After post-World War I British rule ended, 58 separate governments ruled Iraq over 37 years, until a 1958 revolution overthrew the monarchy. 1 After the Ba’ath party took power in a 1963 coup, a brief period of stability and prosperity produced a secular state with a thriving oil economy, a rising GDP, and a burgeoning education system. After Saddam Hussein seized power in 1979 and almost immediately launched a war with Iran, the country’s economic and social infrastructure began to deteriorate. In a short time, Iraq descended from affluence to a country in which the standard of living was reduced to a “subsistence level,” according to the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 2 As a closed society, Iraq’s GDP plunged by more than $50 billion in less than 10 years, food and agricultural production slowed, and 60 percent of the population depended on government rations. Malnutrition, a leading contributor to rising infant mortality rate, grew rampant. 3 Essential services slowed due to years of poor maintenance or outright neglect. Approximately half the population did not have regular access to potable drinking water, and even fewer households were connected to a functioning sewage system. Iraq was a failing state even before the Hussein government fell in March 2003. In April 2003, the Coalition Provisional Authority was established as a transitional government. One month later, USAID awarded cooperative agreements to five American NGOs to implement ICAP, a central element of USAID’s overall relief and reconstruction mission in Iraq. ICAP was conceived as a community action and mobilization initiative to foster civic pride in Iraqis and to try and reconnect them to an operational civil society (box 1). IRD, chosen to implement the program 8
Under the initial ICAP intervention, IRD completed 2,381 projects benefiting more than 20 million people and worth more than $73 million Box 1 ICAP: Program and results 1 ICAP began in May 2003 as a mechanism to mobilize Iraqi communities to identify, prioritize, and address their most pressing civic needs. IRD oversaw operations in Baghdad; the rest of the country was divided among four other implementing agencies. IRD helped establish locally organized community action groups to drive project work, which was filtered through three broad program components: economic and social infrastructure to build and repair roads and public buildings; business development to provide grant support to micro, small, and medium businesses; and the Assistance to Civilian Victims Fund, which provided social and financial aid to innocent individuals and communities injured or afflicted by military forces. Building community trust Under the initial ICAP intervention (2003–06), IRD completed 2,381 projects benefiting more than 20 million people and worth more than $73 million—almost 40 percent of which was covered by Iraqi communities and the government through in-kind contributions. ICAP laid the foundation for the larger and more complex development and stabilization projects to come, and it yielded a number of positive Baghdad governorate districts and city districts performance measurements. At its conclusion, ICAP had: Al-Tarmiya • Generated more than 5,600 short-term jobs and almost Taji Al-Istiqlal 23,000 long-term jobs. Employment generation Adhamiya Kadhmiya Sadr City steadily rose for both short- 9 Nissan and long-term jobs for each Abu Ghraib Taji Karkh Karada year of the program. Al-Mada’n Al-Rasheed • Established 441 community action groups with approximately 5,500 members—a Mahmoudiya third of whom were women. • Completed more than 700 infrastructure projects, including the construction or rehabilitation of 278 schools, 75 health centers and hospitals, 65 water and sewage facilities, 60 roads, and 38 sports and recreation facilities. • Invested $8 million in more than 1,100 business development projects, covering competitive grants, technical assistance, vocational and managerial training, marketplaces, cooperative grants, and handicap activities. • Aided more than 760,000 Baghdad residents through 515 projects assisting civilian victims. 9
Page 1: Empowering citizens Engaging govern
Page 4 and 5: Copyright © by International Relie
Page 6 and 7: In memory of Awni Quandour, whose r
Page 8 and 9: Overview General David Petraeus, co
Page 10 and 11: what made CSP stand out was the clo
Page 12 and 13: By the end of the program, the busi
Page 14 and 15: 1 Building community trust through
Page 18 and 19: Community action groups stood at th
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Page 24 and 25: IRD placed a premium on diversity
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Page 28 and 29: Scheduled to wind down in 2012 afte
Page 30 and 31: 2 A complete stabilization package
Page 32 and 33: As planning for CSP unfolded, the s
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Page 36 and 37: the most successful projects were t
Page 38 and 39: “ You are the future of Ramadi. Y
Page 40 and 41: “[Colonel John Charlton] was the
Page 42 and 43: 3 Successes and setbacks in a count
Page 44 and 45: CSP helped create a sense of normal
Page 46 and 47: the renovation of the Mosul Social
Page 48 and 49: By combining his personal savings w
Page 50 and 51: Ninety-eight percent of grantee bus
Page 52 and 53: Dr. Noor Abdul Aziz Baqir’s grant
Page 54 and 55: all the training centers renovated
Page 56 and 57: IRD embarked on its own job placeme
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“ Without security, there is no d
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IRD’s staffing woes could be brok
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Many key tactical lessons have alre
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Epilogue
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Acronyms ACV CAG Assistance to Civi
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This report details IRD’s impleme
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