“Only 30 percent of children nationwide
have access to safe drinking water in Iraq,
and only 20 percent of people outside of Baghdad
have a working sewage service.”     - UN Children’s Fund

Racine Dominicans are participating in a cooperative effort to bring fresh drinking water to Iraqis in desperate need of water filtration systems. Won't you join us in this worthy effort?

Click here to read about the project.

Jubilarians Make Special Request

Knowing their family and friends may want to do something special to honor their jubilee, the 19 Racine Dominicans celebrating special anniversaries this year made a unique request. They invited people to contribute to the “Water for Peace” project sponsored by the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project and the Muslim Peacemaker Teams. The project helps supply schools and hospitals in Iraq with clean drinking water.

Approximately 500 schools, as well as 20 hospitals and clinics, are in desperate need of water filtration systems. The Muslim Peacemaker Teams  found an Iraqi supplier who sells three different sizes of water purifications systems at a cost of $250, $500, and $1,000 that provide 189, 750, or 1,500 liters of fresh water per day.

The smallest filtration system could supply clean water for a school of about 100 students. The largest filtration system could supply a 200-bed hospital with adequate, clean water. Each system is powered by a small electrical generator.

“We see this as a real, person-to-person connection with the Iraqi people,” noted 50-year jubilarian S. Jean Verber. “Our sisters heartily endorsed the project as a concrete way to stand against the war and to help people suffering from it.”

Contributions have continued to flow in to the Racine Dominicans for the “Water for Peace” project, totaling $3,500 as of September 1. Other groups, such as parishes ans schools, are also picking up the outreach effort.

Making a Difference
"Many people expressed appreciation for the opportunity to support this project," 60-year jubilarian S. Virgine Lawinger said of the notes she received from family and friends. "We all feel pretty helpless in not being able to stop the war, but the water project provides us a way to make a significant difference in people's lives."

Sami Rasouli, a peace activist from Iraq, is the personal link between U.S. contributors and the Iraqi schools and hospitals. While in Wisconsin in early September, he updated the sisters and other supporters on the progress being made with the water project, and he will personally take their contributions back to Baghdad.

Rasouli, born in Iraq, emigrated to the U.S. at age 27. He built a successful business in Minneapolis, but after the 1991 Gulf war, he became increasingly concerned about the plight of the Iraqi people. He now travels frequently to Iraq, then speaks to many audiences in the U.S. Midwest, offering a first-hand perspective of the U.S. occupation of his homeland.

Continuing the Relationship
In months to come, the names of Iraqi schools benefiting from the water systems will be sent to contributors, and the givers and receivers will be invited to continue building their person-to-person relationship by writing letters to one another.

The 2008 jubilarians - along with increasing numbers of others supporting the "Water for Peace" project - have injected new life into the old lyrics: "Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me."

To join in this peace-making effort, you may send a check to:
Racine Dominican Water Project
c/o Justice Outreach Office
5635 Erie Street
Racine, WI  53402-1900