Yusif Hassan Rasheed is a battle hardened veteran in every sense of the word.n the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, Rasheed enlisted in the army to fight for his country. Unfortunately, a combat injury forced him out of action, being confined to a wheelchair ever since.
Initially he received a small pension that was not even enough support his basic living need, but he managed to get by.
Things looked brighter when Rasheed married a young woman, Anysa Saeed Anwar, from his neighborhood who had a job working in a nearby factory and earned enough income to support them.
Troubles never come singly so they say and just when the demobilized war veteran thought he had all his ducks in a row, his wife was involved in a tragic accident losing her left hand.
She was forced to resign from her job, compounding the couple’s problems. The lost income could be seen reflected in their house that started going to seed- mildew grew on the walls (presenting a serious health risk), broken windows were not repaired (letting heat escape during the winter months), and the couple could never afford to be connected to the local water network.
With all hope lost, Rasheed and his wife were offered a lifeline in form of the UN-HABITAT funded, and Counterpart International implemented “Rehabilitation of 600 Houses in Kirkuk.’
Soon work began on the severely dilapiladated “House 26, Block 5” cated in the Piryadi neighbourhood.
Yusif and his wife, Anysa, warmly received Counterpart’s Team during the preliminary housing assessment, and after comparing the family’s situation against the UN-HABITAT-approved selection criteria, Counterpart informed them that their house would be renovated as part of the program. The couple surprised Counterpart’s staff by working tirelessly and with seemingly endless enthusiasm throughout the renovation process; Program Director Mahmood Hassan noted that they seemed to “forget their disabilities.”
Yusif contributed by removing debris from their house, collecting it in a bin and transporting it in his wheelchair. Anysa also helped clean the house in preparation for renovation activities and then again after work was completed; during her breaks she prepared and served tea to the laborers. During one of Counterpart’s monitoring visits, she remarked, “being poor never kept us from dreaming of renovating our house one day, it seems that this dream has finally come true through your program.”
Through UN-HABITAT’s support and in partnership with the Rasheed family, Counterpart used gypsum and cement to patch cracks and holes in the walls and roof (improving insulation); cleaned, treated and painted the walls and doors (eliminating mildew); replaced broken window panes; installed a water tank and connected the house to the larger water network.
Many years of sanctions and conflict have taken their toll on housing and basic infrastructure in Iraqi cities. The project 'Community Rehabilitation' addressed the rehabilitation of houses in run-down urban areas as well as severely dilapidated social housing complexes constructed over 30 years ago. Because of the limited budget available, the project has not undertaken the full rehabilitation of the housing units but has given priority to urgent rehabilitation needs, especially water and sanitation.
The objectives of the project are to improve the living standards of low-income groups through rehabilitation of houses and basic infrastructure, enhancing the capacity of small contractors, and generation of income and employment. The project has rehabilitated close to 1,300 housing units in Baghdad, Samawa, and Kirkuk, with a significant level of beneficiary participation especially in Baghdad and Kirkuk where individual housing units have been rehabilitated.