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Staff members of the NGO Shelter for Life train Iraqi villagers in the Soran District of Iraq's northern Erbil province on proper sanitation techniques. (U.S. Embassy Baghdad)
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Iraqi and American officials joined with the U.S. NGO Shelter for Life to open the $3.8 million sustainable water system for Soran District in north Erbil province. Using a series of pumps and conveyance pipes, the water system moves fresh water from the Bekhal Waterfalls to a storage facility in the Soran Town center. From there, water is distributed to some 155,000 residents of the town and outlying rural areas.
The project was funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. The Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil also contributed to the cost of materials.
Soran District Mayor Kirmanj Izzat presided over the ceremony which took place on the main water storage tank in Zargali. Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi delivered opening remarks and commented on the close partnership between Shelter for Life and the Provincial Government.
In his remarks, Shelter for Life Country Director Jim Gould said, "I submit to you that something far more precious than gold or oil is in the mountains of Northern Iraq… Water!"
 | | Water is collected at its source in the Bekhal Mountains. (U.S. Embassy Baghdad) |
U.S. Regional Coordinator Jess Baily said, "This project represents a success not only for the people of Soran, but also for the United States and the Kurdistan Regional Government. I’d like to commend Shelter for Life for completing this project on-time and under-budget. I’m also so pleased they were able to conduct accompanying trainings for local officials and residents on proper sanitation and conservation. This will ensure that the infrastructure they have put in place is sustainable decades into the future."
In addition to providing fresh water to the 25,000 families of Soran, Shelter for Life also connected four rural communities to the main water network. The project included a community development component that provided public awareness principles for hygiene and the environment; an environmental awareness program especially designed for schoolchildren, regarding waste materials and its disposal; health and hygiene training for women; the promotion of municipal waste management; and radio programming to broadcast public health messages, and finally billboards in the community reminding residents to dispose of waste properly.
Shelter for Life began working in Iraq in 2003, conducting surveys of returning refugees from Iran and Turkey.
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