Iraqi Community Organization Project (ICOP) or USAID's Iraq Community Action Program's (CAP)

[npincus]

Have either Mccain or Palin EVER heard of these 2 "community organizing" projects, one to assist Iraqi refugees (ICOP) and the other, (CAP)to assist the promotion of democratic organizations in Iraqi communties.

I doubt it.

Someone in the press should ask them if they have, to be followed up by, "Do you think ICOP and CAP have real responsibilities"?



http://www.iraqfoundation.org/projects_new/icop/icopindex.html

Iraqi Community Organizing Project
Active from 1998 to October 2006

In 1998, with a grant from ORR, the Iraq Foundation initiated the Iraqi Community Organizing Project (ICOP) to promote the self-help and social integration of Iraqi refugees.

ICOP hence established four CBOs in Nashville, Tennessee; St. Louis, Missouri; Dearborn, Michigan; and Chicago, Illinois.

Statistics had showed that these areas were home to the bulk of Iraqi refugees of all ethnicities and sects. Indeed, over the years, ICOP brought diverse groups and sectors of the Iraqi community together around a common goal. Iraqi Arab Muslims, Shi’as and Sunnis were not the only ones who benefited from the CBOs services; but Feyili and Yezidi Kurds, Chaldeans and Assyrians, did too, although in noticeably slighter numbers.

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Each CBO has assisted hundreds of refugees to access social and professional services, to gain skills and confidence they need to manage successfully in American society; and to educate the American community about issues faced by Iraqi refugees and assets they bring to the community. Through these institutions, are re-building the trust that is so essential to being able to work together and to thrive in a democracy. The institutions are also helping to build the sense of connection to the broader Americans society that is important in the wake of September 11th.

Statistics show that there are approximately 40,000 Iraqi refugees living in the United States today, all of whom arrived after 1992. In 1998, the Iraq Foundation launched the "Iraqi Community Organizing Project" (ICOP) to help refugees adjust to their new environment, acquire necessary skills, and integrate better into the wider American society while maintaining their cultural roots and sense of community. ICOP has formed Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in selected cities to offer services to Iraqis. Four CBOs are currently operating:


CAP directly engages Iraqis in reconstructing their own communities, while building a nationwide grassroots constituency for democracy. Since June 2003, USAID has committed over $271 million to 6,000 CAP projects while Iraqi communities have contributed more than $74 million. Through this funding, 1,457 CAGs have been mobilized in all 18 governorates. The CAP program created more than 2.7 million days of employment and 34,000 long-term jobs (43 percent of these jobs have gone to women).

Beneficiaries spanned virtually all religions and ethnicities, with many projects specifically targeted to groups like youth, civilian war victims, the disabled, and women - all regardless of religious, ethnic, or other affiliation.

The program ensures that all community stakeholders-particularly women, children, youth, the elderly and those with special needs-are active participants in the process from start to finish. To date, USAID has provided nearly $258 million to achieve the following goals:


http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/cap.html

USAID's Iraq Community Action Program's (CAP) overarching objective is to promote grassroots democracy and better local governance via a project process paradigm of demand-driven community development. Working directly through community action groups (CAGs) and in consultation with local government counterparts, CAP is continuing to create representative and participatory community groups.


Democracy Building at the Grassroots Level
Restoration of Basic Services
Economic Stabilization & Youth Employment
Conflict Resolution & Reconciliation

The CAP projects encourage communities to organize and elect inclusive and representative neighborhood councils. The councils then lead their members through a transparent and democratic process:

prioritizing community needs;
identifying projects to be undertaken; and
making transparent decisions on the completion and monitoring of the projects.