CJTF-7 Public Affairs

BAGHDAD, Iraq

Girls Secondary School opens south of Balad

AL BUHESHMA, Iraq – As teenage girls stood in line, Shouket Abudal Rahman Ahmed, the mayor of Al Buheshma, ushered in the latest chapter of progress in Iraq’s school system.

As Ahmed cut the ribbon opening the first secondary school for girls in this village, located south of Balad, the occasion marked an ongoing collaboration between Coalition Forces and Iraqi school officials to provide more educational opportunities to local children.

Capt. Thomas Roughneen, a team leader 404^th Civil Affairs Battalion, presently assigned to Task Force Ironhorse, said that before, no school had existed for girls 12 years and older. Instead, students traveled to other schools miles away.

“We decided there was a glaring vacuum,” Roughneen said.

With help from Ahmed, a former medical clinic was converted into the three-room school.

A local contractor completed the project, which included refinishing classrooms and installing new plumbing, in just seven days. However, the school still needed to be staffed.

Ahmed said six area teachers were transferred to the new school, which can accommodate at least 30 students.

“The headmaster in Balad managed to collect a teaching staff from other schools,” Ahmed said.

The manager of education in Balad, Al Shak Abd Al Razzuk Hassan said the project school couldn’t have happened without help and funding from Coalition forces.

“We hesitated to open this school,” Hassan said. “We didn’t have enough money, or a building.

Now that the small building is open in time for this school year, Hassan said village students don’t have to stray too far to continue their learning.

“We thank the Coalition for this (opportunity) to encourage education,” he said.

Capt. Thomas Roughneen, a team leader 404th Civil Affairs Battalion, presently assigned to Task Force Ironhorse, said that before, no school had existed for girls 12 years and older. Instead, students traveled to other schools miles away.

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Winning hearts and minds in small town Iraq.
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