A locksmith’s workshop was one of the first two GREAT JOB projects.

It was in 2017, shortly after Qaraqosh was liberated from ISIS. The town’s biggest problems were widespread destruction and a lack of professionals who could help the locals rebuild it. At the time, the town was administered by the Nineveh Plain Protection Unit (NPU), a Christian self-defense unit. Its main task was to provide security, but it also took upon the role of local administration before it was formally established. The NPU outlined the problem and asked for support in providing equipment for a local locksmith’s workshop. They said the Qaraqosh residents were unable to return until there was a proper workshop and professionals in town that could fix for example destroyed windows and doors and help rebuild other workplaces.

Adnan and his three sons (each one of them was married, so the entire family counted 8 people) knew their trade well. The man opened his first workshop in 1982. He started from scratch and was trying to develop it step by step. His sons were growing up helping their father and learning his profession. When Daesh attacked their town, they were forced to flee and leave behind their prosperous and well-equipped workshop.

We helped the family and purchased the entire equipment which allowed them to develop their workshop and expand their services. The tools we bought included:

• a bench drill
• an impact hammer
• a professional angle grinder
• a wielding machine with electrodes
• a table saw
• a set of drills with, grinding discs and other tools

The total cost was exactly 1218 dollars, which in 2018 amounted to 4,500 zlotys.