In the six years since its inception, the Community Action Program (CAP) has been imple menting thousands of infrastructure repair and development projects in Iraq, and has been instituting grassroots and democratic Community Action Groups (CAGs) throughout the country.
IRAQ BY THE NUMBERS
303 Community Action Group projects have been completed to date
Over $20
million has been contributed to CAP Ill through community
donations. These donations can include anything from office space or
building materials to time and labor.
1,682 Local Council members have been trained in effective local governance, transparency and project formulation & management
561Marla
projects have been completed in CAP Ill. To date, the Marla Fund
has benefited 3,664
civilian victims of war.
News
• LC and CAG work together for one cause: service improvement
• CHF links the pyramid base with the top
•CAP projects help improving the education in Iraq
• Community members and continuous involvement in decision making
WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES TO INSPIRE ACTION
CHF International
is
implementing the third phase of the USAID-fund ed CAP program, CAP III,
in Anbar and South-Central governorates. Through CAP, CHF International
is directly engag ing Iraqis in re constructing their own communi
ties, while devel oping the demo cratic process at the grassroots
level nationwide.
CHF employs Participatory Action for Community Enhancement (PACE) methodology in its development work. Through PACE, community organizers work to form commit tees that are effective at identifying and solving local needs and problems. CAP III is now working to further integrate community participation into local government by training local government officials in community outreach and infrastructure development.
CHF's approach has consistently produced high impact in community leadership, demo
cratic participation, improved physical infrastructure and employment. As importantly, it has also produced vital sustainable local organizations now responsible for facilitating construction of economic and public infrastructure.
An integral component of CAP is the strengthening of local government to be more responsive to community needs. In partnership with Local Councils across South Cen tral Iraq and in Anbar, we are training Council members in good governance practices and helping them to better understand the needs of their communities. At the same time, members of the community are invited to these trainings to understand Local Council perspectives. By bringing both parties together and facilitating information sharing, CHF is working to strengthen governance mechanisms throughout Iraq.
In addition, CAP III continues to assist civilian victims of conflict through the Marla
Ruzicka Iraqi War Victims Fund. CHF has completed 364 Marla projects benefiting almost
2,500 civilians, over 1,600 of which are located in Anbar.