CHURCH WORLD SERVICE: EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM
2005 Iraq Relief and Rehabilitation
September 12, 2005


SITUATION:

The continuous cycles of violence in Iraq are preventing the country and 
its people from returning to normal life. Guerrilla attacks against the 
US-led Coalition Forces (CF), public infrastructure, major locations, 
foreigners, contractors, police officers, local CF staff and civilians 
all continue.

The country remains in a state of emergency with little improvement in 
investment and job creation. A considerable portion of vulnerable Iraqi 
families continue to need food and non-food assistance to cope with the 
necessities of life for some time to come.

The continuous attacks on the Iraqi infrastructure by the insurgents, 
especially on electric and water pump stations, has led most of the 
Iraqi people to suffer from a shortage of electricity and drinking 
water.

This situation has led to increased vulnerability, exacerbating 
humanitarian needs that have exceeded the response capacity of the 
affected communities. Local communities are deprived of their resources 
and incapacitated by the situation. These communities are in need of 
food relief, health care, shelter, counseling and support.


RESPONSE:

Church World Service, the lead agency for the recently completed, 
two-year "All Our Children" campaign in Iraq, is now responding to the 
humanitarian situation there by initiating new efforts in Iraq and by 
supporting the work of fellow members of the Action by Churches Together 
(ACT) International alliance, including International Orthodox Charities 
(IOCC), the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and Norwegian Church 
Aid (NCA).

SUMMARY:

++ The CWS-specific efforts focus on a collaborative program to empower 
Iraqi non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and strengthen civil society 
in Iraq.

++ IOCC is proposing to continue supporting the Iraqi population in 
rehabilitation and furnishing of schools and institutions for orphans 
and handicapped children; and provide vocational training for youngsters 
and distribution of essential food and hygiene items.

++ MECC is proposing to continue providing food and non-food assistance 
to Iraqi war refugees located in the Ruwayshed camp in Jordan

++ NCA is proposing to continue supporting small infrastructure and 
water and sanitation projects.


CWS Program: In collaboration with Oxfam/Great Britain and the Italian 
Consortium of Solidarity (ICS), CWS is supporting a program to 
strengthen the capacity of Iraqi NGOs. As noted in a background paper: 
"The existence of independent NGOs in Iraq is a major step in the 
development of a rights-based political and socio-economic process. To 
further that development the NGOs also need to be professional and 
skilled. That would empower their contribution to the restructuring of 
the Iraqi society."

The program CWS is supporting helps create needed space for Iraqi civil 
society initiatives, strengthening grassroots organizations in their 
professional skills, on the effectiveness of their work and their 
ability to advocate for the establishment of a democratic system based 
on human rights. It does so by building on local capacities, helping the 
NGOs analyze their strengths, challenges and weaknesses and providing 
tools to enhance their skills.

Among the goals of the program are: strengthening capacities of six (6) 
local grassroots organizations to carry out development and relief work 
in a crisis framework; improving the professional skills of staff of 
those local NGO's; improving the management capacity of NGOs managers; 
benefiting the Iraqi population by improving the quality of services 
local NGOs will deliver; support the NGOs' ability in institutional 
relations and fund-raising; and enhance the overall professionalism of 
the NGOs so that they can access different sources of funding.

The program has conducted a preliminary summary of local NGOs and 
selected those who will participate in the program; ongoing work will 
include training courses and training workshops for staff of these local 
NGOs; grant writing projects; and evaluation.

A project proposal and management workshop staff of the six (6) 
participating local NGO's recently concluded (Aug. 31-Sept. 6) in Amman, 
Jordan, with participation from CWS International Relief and Recovery 
Liaison (IRRL) Steve Weaver.

Budget for this program is $222,000 and includes costs of personnel, 
operational costs, and training workshops. Also being funded are small 
grants for projects the NGOs will undertake in their respective areas of 
focus


OTHER PROGRAMS:

+++ International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC):

IOCC is working with Christian churches in Iraq, which are serving 
communities at risk, due to discrimination, dispersal and potential 
reprisals against Christian communities during times of armed conflict. 
However, the IOCC also works with Iraq 's predominately Muslim 
communities to assist the most vulnerable affected by ongoing war and 
humanitarian problems.

The targeted communities benefiting from IOCC support are vulnerable 
families and individuals, some who still live in camps for internally 
displaced and returnees. IOCC is addressing the needs of its targeted 
communities regardless of gender, religious or political affiliation.

Those assisted are 4,082 families in Baghdad and 3,025 Christian & 
Muslim families in Mosul receiving food packages and hygiene kits. 
Another component: Reconstructed schools, benefiting 5,453 students, 
will be rehabilitated and furnished; these include one primary school; 
three secondary schools and one high school.

Budget is $597,716 and includes $519,716 in direct assistance.


+++ Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)

The MECC, which has assisted refugees in camps who fled from Iraq to 
Jordan, is assisting 852 refugees in the Ruwayshed refugee camp, which 
includes Iranian Kurds and Persians, Turks, Iraqi Arabs and 
Palestinians. There are 122 families located in the camp, 120 of them 
headed by men and two by women.

Assistance includes 250 food boxes per month for six months. Also to be 
distributed are hygiene kits, as well as clothing to children. Also 
planned: psycho- social assistance to address the problem of depression 
among refugees. MECC, with the support of Presbyterian Disaster 
Assistance (PDA), is planning to make an assessment of the needs and 
formulate a program to support the population in the camp.

Budget: $159,982, includes $93,162 in direct assistance.


+++ Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)

NCA has responded to the humanitarian situation in Iraq in a number of 
ways and is now focusing on programs in northern, central and southern 
Iraq that include water intervention, psycho-social assistance and 
strengthening of civil society.

In this appeal, the focus is on NCA water projects, specifically water 
and sanitation programs in the southern Iraqi villages of Al Aaoga, Al 
Bahadreya and Al Muhalah. There, some 11,000 persons in poor and 
vulnerable communities lack access to clean water; the NCA work - 
including placement of water pipelines -- will provide repairs and other 
needed interventions to water systems.


BUDGET of $695,341 includes costs of pipes and other equipment.

Contributions to support this emergency appeal may be sent to your 
denomination or to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN, 
46515. Please designate: 2005 Iraq Relief and Rehabilitation, Appeal # 
6818

Donors are asked to designate which component of the appeal they wish 
their donation to support - CWS, MECC, IOCC or NCA.

For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is 
responding -- or to make a credit card contribution -- please visit the 
Church World Service Website at www.churchworldservice.org or phone 
(800) 297-1516.

CWS Emergency Response Program special contacts: (212) 870-3151;
International: dderr@churchworldservice.org
Domestic: lreedbrown@churchworldservice.org

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