Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project

Below are images from schools and a mosque in Najaf, Iraq, where water filtration units were recently installed by the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project and our partner, the Muslim Peacemaker Teams. Thanks to donors St. Augustine Church, Cohasset, MN; Albuquerque Mennonite Faith Community, Albuquerque, NM; and Community Presbyterian Church, Cohasset, MN.

Water for Peace is a partnership between Iraqis and Americans to restore access to clean water in Iraqi schools and hospitals. It is a way for Americans and Iraqis to work together to build trust and partnership in place of conflict and fear. To learn more, visit http://waterforpeaceproject.org.

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GiveMN tool kit: Birthday fundraisers

Got a birthday coming up? Well then, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We hope you get everything you want. However, if you feel like you’ve got enough stuff already, consider asking your friends and family to make a donation to IARP in lieu of gifts. Other folks are doing it, check out these fabulous fundraisers:

http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Mollysbirthday

http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Jason-And-Nicola-s-Birthday-Wish

To start your own fundraiser, visit http://givemn.razoo.com/p/how-to-setup-a-fundraiser

Minneapolis-based artist Sean Smuda sent artworks from his Blown Derivatives project with Muslim Peacemaker Teams Director Sami Rasouli when Sami returned to Najaf, Iraq this past February. Today, the artworks are traveling to farms, art exhibits, local streets by holy shrines and various communities in Karbala, Iraq. This display of Blown Derivatives is made possible by Iraqi artist Ibraheem Hussein, his family and artist friends. It is Smuda’s hope to have Iraqi artists create work in response to them.

A recent article in the St. Thomas Bulletin describes a Water for Peace project by Students for Justice and Peace at the University of St. Thomas. In collaboration with other student groups and departments, Students for Justice and Peace raised more than $1,400 last spring to pay for a water-filtration system that is now used by the 300 students at the Imam Redha Elementary School for Girls in Najaf, Iraq.

To read the article, click here.

Water for Peace is a program of the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project and our partner the Muslim Peacemaker Teams. It is a service-learning project that connects Iraqis and Americans in partnership to bring clean water to schools in Iraq.

Here are a few of the people affected by IARP’s work in 2010. Thank you to all of our supporters.