Tuz Khurmatu, the capital city of Tuz district in Salah Al-Din, is known for its ethnic diversity and historic trade route between Baghdad and Kirkuk. However, during the ISIL conflict, the city was left in absolute devastation and destruction.

Determined to build back the city, the residents of Tuz Khurmatu came together to rehabilitate 17 community infrastructure damaged by ISIL. It included facilities such as recreational parks, kindergarten schools and pedestrian walkways. These efforts were led by over 1,990 residents of Tuz with support from UNDP.

On the community driven approach, Irfan Nouri, counselor from Tuz Mayor’s office said, “The residents are benefitting from rehabilitation of key infrastructure such as parks, roads and schools. In addition, several people were employed including people with disabilities. The financial situation of residents has improved. The sense of solidarity between people has strengthened thanks to the collaboration between the mayor’s office and the international organizations.” With relationship between ethnic communities in Tuz strained by years of conflict, efforts such as this have helped rebuild trust and create a sense of belonging between its residents.

UNDP used a unique cash-for-work model – putting residents of Tuz at the centre of their own stabilization efforts while also boosting the local economy. It started with consultations with the community to prioritize infrastructure projects, followed by locally hiring residents for 40 days (about 1 and a half months) of employment. The hiring process followed a pre-determined criteria to ensure equal ethnic and gender representation.

At a recent ceremony held to mark the completion of the 17 facilities, Najem Abdelwahed, a resident of Tuz said, “I am happy to contribute to the rebuilding of these important facilities in my city. It gives me a sense of purpose by improving services in Tuz for its people. I want to lead by example and guide my children and residents through my work and behavior.” The rehabilitation work included health care centers, schools, parks, water networks and a municipality building.

The cash-for-work model also helped inject immediate income for families to meet their daily needs. “Thanks to the money I earned, I was able to pay for my family’s medical bills including doing a medical check-up and paying off some of my debts,” said Chokria Darwish. She was one of the 1,990 residents hired to participate in the rehabilitation efforts. 

Having fled for her life during the conflict with ISIL, Chokria returned home to Tuz in 2019. Her husband unfortunately fell terribly ill and was unable to provide for the family. To make ends meet, she borrowed money from her close relatives and neighbors. Participating in the cash-for-work opportunity, helped her bring in substantial income to the household. “I was happy to be able to earn for the house. I am hoping to find similar job opportunities soon,” she said. 

The residents of Tuz strongly believe that there are several lessons other regions in Iraq can take away from this project. One is that this helped build a strong sense of local leadership to rebuild their own city. A second is that this played a key role in re-engaging residents as active members of the society. And finally, it helped prioritize and boost the local economy.

About:

The project was implemented by UNDP's Iraq Crisis Response and Resilience Programme (ICRRP) in partnership with World Vision with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), provided through KFW Development Bank. To date, over 11,700 people affected by the ISIL conflict have received livelihoods support through the programme in Salah Al-Din alone. This includes short- and medium-term livelihoods support through cash-for-work, vocational training, asset replacement and grants.