Re-equip Universities in Baquba, Iraq

Help rebuild 2 universities damaged by terrorist fighting

Your donation will enable Yarmouk University and Baquba Technical Institute to continue preparing young Iraqi men and women to contribute to the transformation of Iraq.

Iraqi women in university classroom

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Universities in Baquba were damaged by terrorist fighting.
Spirit of America, working with The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and their Undergraduate Fellows on university campuses nationwide, is collecting donations to re-equip universities in Baquba, Iraq. The funds raised will be used for equipment and supplies for Iraqi universities in Diyala province. This project is being coordinated by Dr. Joseph Morrison Skelly, an FDD Academic Fellow who is now serving with the United States military in Iraq.
Questions? Contact Gina Grandinetti at gina@defenddemocracy.org
The city of Baquba, which lies thirty-five miles to the Northeast of Baghdad, is home to two important institutions of higher learning, Yarmouk University and Baquba Technical Institute. Both of these institutions help to meet the educational aims of college students across the province of Diyala, which lies at the crossroads of the Sunni Triangle and is a strategic keystone in the ongoing transformation of Iraq from an authoritarian dictatorship into a democratic society situated at the heart of the Middle East.
Yarmouk University offers bachelor and advanced degrees to men and women in several disciplines, including the sciences, arts and letters, medicine, law and business. Students can take classes in the departments of computer science, English and Arabic languages, chemistry, biology, pharmacology, dentistry, engineering, legal studies, history, and education. Baquba Technical Institute educates students in advanced engineering and technical subjects. It caters to over 4,000 men and women from Diyala province and nearby vicinities. It offers programs in engineering design, electrical engineering, construction management, computer programming, medical technology, accountancy, business studies, and related areas. Its graduates enter the high-technology and industrial sectors of the Iraqi economy and often continue their studies at four-year and graduate-level institutions.
During an outbreak of fighting in downtown Baquba in late June, 2004, anti-Iraqi insurgents commandeered buildings near Yarmouk University and Baquba Technical Institute. In the ensuing battle, these two colleges sustained heavy collateral damage. Buildings were hit, ceilings collapsed, classrooms destroyed, laboratories demolished, libraries damaged, offices wrecked, and athletic facilities left in ruins. Such devastation serves as yet another reminder that the terrorists have no desire to improve the living conditions of the Iraqi people nor the educational prospects of Iraqi youth. They wish instead to resuscitate the repressive practices of the Saddam Hussein regime and to stifle the democratic promise of a new Iraq.
The schools are being rebuilt but basic supplies and equipment are still needed. These include personal computers, laptops, printers, scanners, network servers, copiers, video cameras, DVD players, laboratory supplies, scientific instruments, medical equipment, library books, library research aids, academic journals, textbooks, desks, blackboards, office furniture, and office supplies. Helping to meet some of these needs will enable Yarmouk University and Baquba Technical Institute to continue with their vital educational mission, namely, preparing young Iraqi men and women to contribute to the transformation of Iraq from a repressive tyranny into a free and democratic state in the center of the Middle East.

Use of funds
We are a 501c3 nonprofit and your donation is tax deductible. 100% of all donations to this project will be used for direct project expenses (i.e., purchase and shipping of the needed goods and services). We do not deduct fees or expenses for organization overhead. Those expenses are funded separately. Donation Policy Typically, we need and use all donations for the project to which they are earmarked. Any donations in excess of those immediately needed to fund this project will be used for the expansion of the project. And, after expansion of the project, any surplus donations will be used according to the donors' instructions. As a donor, you will have a choice to reassign any unused portion of your donation to other Spirit of America projects, or (B) get a refund of the unused portion of your donation. If we contact you and you do not reply we will reassign any unused portion of your donation to other Spirit of America projects and 100% of those funds will be used for direct project expenses.