Spirit of America.NET founder Jim Hake is back from Iraq with some stories to tell. Some key excerpts:
"Back at Camp Blue Diamond we met with the two officers (Maj. Chandler and Maj. Dunham) responsible for providing the TV equipment donated by Spirit of America to the 7 Iraqi stations in Al Anbar. When we met about 1/2 of the equipment had been delivered to the stations and technical training was being planned. With the new equipment Iraqi personnel at one of the stations took to the streets with camcorders to do "man in the street" interviews. When they broadcast the interviews they received numerous calls with positive feedback. Things like that associated with a free press that we take for granted are entirely new in most of Iraq.
Also back at Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi we met with the Director of Economic Development for Al Anbar Province. He is spearheading the creation of women's sewing centers in the Ramadi-Fallujah region. These centers will provide women with a chance to make money, some for the first time, and improve their lives and their families. Marines Commanding General Jim Mattis is very enthusiastic about the project- both for its economic impact and because it will provide women a place to discuss women's issues (day care is provided). He has asked if we can help by providing the sewing machines. For starters we are looking for people to buy the first 50 sewing machines costing $475 each.... If things go well with those, we'll do our best to provide 950 more, thus helping 1000 women.
Jim concludes with a look at their future strategic focus and promises some updates:
"There are 3 areas of strategic focus for Spirit of America that deserve our greatest attention. They are the areas about which both the US Military and Iraqis are most enthusiastic.
- Economic development programs such as job training and microfinance. Our providing tools and sewing machines fits in this category. Housing and construction related projects emerged as high impact because of the jobs and visible signs of progress they create in addition to needed housing stock.
- Youth programs, especially sports programs and support for education.
- Media and information projects such as training and equipment for Iraqi-owned and operated television and radio stations."
He's also looking at an in-country spirit of America presence. Finally, more updates are promised:
"In the coming weeks you will hear more from us about:
- Status of projects you've already supported in Iraq and Afghanistan including the television station equipment and tools for Iraq and the soccer gear and
- New requests from Americans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Our plans for increasing the scope of our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and providing focus to the desire of the American people to help
Lastly, I want to thank the men and women of the Marines who put themselves in harms way to host us and ensure that we were able to move about safely..."
Yes, we do. Thanks, also, to Jim and to Spirit of America for their work. Become a part of it!
Joe: Thank you so much for posting this! Spirit of America is the brightest spot of hope I ever see!!