JumpStart's New Housing Construction Program Begins
JumpStart International has launched a housing construction program in Baghdad designed to leverage local investment and encourage community development, directly benefiting local Iraqis.
Under the program, which creates employment opportunities for local builders, engineers and workers, homeowners provide the land and the materials, while we secure the labor.
While with very limited resources and a six-week goal of starting construction on 20 houses, JumpStart plans to attract additional funding and expand the program, increasing employment to several thousand workers by the end of 2005. Our aim is to create a visual sign of progress to the community and encourage community services and infrastructure investment, while leveraging the resources and co-operation of the homeowners and the internal Iraqi banking system.
Because the housing market could represent as much as 40 percent of Iraq's economy if peace breaks out, it is important to begin "capacity building" of this sector. Housing construction, even more so than agriculture, is one of the few industries in Iraq where a positive economic spiral can be created in the short term. To date, in previous construction projects, JumpStart has constructed over 440 housing units in Baghdad, and reconstructed about 70 homes damaged by fighting in Fallujah.
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