By NRT Digital Media (Nalia Radio & Television)
The United State Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on Monday (September 30) that it awarded two new grants to communities on the Nineveh Plain as a part of its post-Islamic State reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
The United State Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on Monday (September 30) that it awarded two new grants to communities on the Nineveh Plain as a part of its post-Islamic State reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
The US government has taken a special interest in the welfare of
minority groups in Iraq, in particular those who lived under Islamic
State occupation.
One grant would help the Bartella Reconstruction Committee to rebuild
the Mar Mattai Cultural Center, according to a statement from the US
Consulate General in Erbil. USAID said that it hoped that the facility
would again become a “social hub for the entire sub-district.”
A second grant would go to the Assyrian Aid Society to support local
businesses rehabilitate 30 shops in Qaraqosh damaged during the War
against Islamic State. This program will be implemented in coordination
with the Government of Hungary.
“These grants reflect the strong commitment of the US to work through
local and faith-based groups, and partner with other nations such as
Hungary to restore Iraq's rich ethnic, religious, and cultural mosaic,”
said USAID’s USAID Special Representative for Minority Assistance
Programs in Iraq Max Primorac.
The statement from the consulate general did not say how much funding the grants represented.
The Nineveh Plain was one of the hardest hit during the conflict and
the pace of reconstruction has been slow. The thousands of families who
were displaced from the area are reluctant to return because of security
concerns along with a lack of services or housing.