Project Update
Electric Generator in Dohuk
 
On 19 July 2014, the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organisation (ACERO) successfully finalised a major project to install an electric generator at its Dohuk Housing Complex.
 
Summer temperatures in Iraq average 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 80 degrees Fahrenheit at night. As such, the government grid supply of electricity to dwellings in Dohuk is severely affected by daily outages and disruptions. 
 
Odisho Dawood, Chairman of ACERO’s Dohuk Chapter confirmed “ACERO has installed a 200kv electric generator which will provide electricity to 32 apartments.”
 
Working in collaboration with our project partner, the SALT Foundation – Iraq, ACERO brought this major initiative to its successful completion. 
 
The SALT Foundation – Iraq provided funding to meet 70% of the cost of the electric generator itself while ACERO bore the remainder of the expenses associated with the purchase of the generator and other components including;
 

• The purchase of an associated 5000 litre tank;
• The transportation of the generator and its installation;
• The construction of a foundation;
• The purchase of electrical cables and the installation of 32 conductors to transmit electricity to each apartment; and,
• The remuneration of the engineer directing the project.

 
The total cost of the project came to $14,650 US Dollars.
 
The ongoing associated costs will be borne by ACERO and through a nominal monthly contribution from the Complex tenants.   
 
The electric generator will provide 8 amperes of electric power to each apartment alternating according to when the government grid electricity supply experiences an outage.
 
Mr Dawood noted that ACERO is collaborating with all humanitarian organisations and charities to help the displaced, reduce their suffering and meet their daily needs, particularly since most families have arrived in Dohuk without money and property.

He went on to stress that the Complex could provide temporary housing to 10 further families affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Iraq.
 
“We are delighted at the arrival of the generator.”
 
Ishaya Gorial Toma, 55, a resident of the Complex expressed his joy saying “we are delighted at the installation of the generator in this Complex and thank all those who have participated in bringing it to us. We were suffering without electricity during outages of the government electricity grid during the afternoon and night.”
 
The ACERO Dohuk Housing Complex consists of 4 buildings with a total of 32 apartments housing displaced families and the needy. It is a major ACERO project in Northern Iraq providing rent-free accommodation to Assyrians internally displaced from the major Iraqi conflict zones of Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk.