The workshop held by Damour Company for Community Development
Ashraf Al-Ajrami, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Damour
He spoke about the emergence of the company and its transformation from a media company to a company that works for the service of the community. He mentioned that the establishment of the company was on the initiative of Tahani Abu Daqqa and with a common vision due to the need to communicate the vision of the community to the influential international and donor agencies. Therefore, dealing mostly with the local community represented in the municipalities, and where cooperation with the municipalities resulted About some projects, the most important of them.
The project of supplying devices for producing water from air is a new technology, and it has a promising future for the production of drinking water in light of the constant shortage of water resources in our region
A sewage treatment project with a small treatment plant with a capacity of 120 cubic meters per day, and this project is very important at the present time due to its situation in an area where sewage wells abound, in which accidents of collapse of these wells have caused damage to citizens residing in the area. The method of sustainable projects in terms of energy used and in terms of saving maintenance and operating expenses for the project.
As well as the project for the safe disposal of damaged batteries in the Gaza Strip by removing them from the Strip or establishing technical facilities to deal with damaged batteries.
He also explained the mechanism of Damour Company’s work, which aims to serve the community, and seeks to contribute through its relations with influential parties to the implementation of projects that serve the community through any of the parties working in the field, as well as directly through Damour Company.
Dr. Yousef Ibrahim, head of the Water and Environment Authority in the Gaza Strip
The Board of Directors of Damour thanked for holding the workshop and praised what Mr. Ashraf, Chairman of the Board of Directors said, and said that what was presented in the speech is considered very important and can be summed up in four titles:
1- It comes from a private non-profit company that depends in its work on the efforts of its board members, their relationships and their professional capabilities. As the company has implemented the projects mentioned in a short period of time
2- The water from the air project is very important and a new technology for producing water despite the limited quantities produced and it deserves attention in light of the shortage of water resources.
3- The project of dealing with damaged batteries is very important, and it has been tried for a long time, and its achievement by Damour Company is considered a great achievement. He put forward ideas that are consistent with what Damour had previously proposed with the Environmental Authority, which included collecting batteries at collection points and removing them from the sector.
4- Damour company thinking outside the box and directed to important sectors despite the small size of the projects.
He clarified that the water crisis in its general form is a major one that governments and major parties deal with, and put forward some ideas that can be worked on to alleviate the crisis as much as possible:
1- Collecting rainwater and then injecting it into the ground to improve the quality of the atmospheric water. He spoke about the implementation of these projects on the completeness of public facilities, such as schools, mosques, and others. He explained that they are in the process of issuing legislation requiring anyone who wants to establish a facility to make a rainwater drainage system.
2- He pointed out that it is possible to benefit from the global and regional interest in preserving the environment and to try to obtain any projects that help in preserving the environment in the sector.
3- He pointed out that many of the large projects that were established under the supervision of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility did not work in the required manner because they require operating expenses and cannot be provided. Therefore, it is necessary to think of projects commensurate with the prevailing situation in the sector and which have the possibility of continuity and sustainability.
4- He called for dealing with the water problem in terms of quantities and quality, as well as the issue of Israel’s request to take sewage water, and it can be exchanged for drinking water or any other sources.
Talk to Mazen Al-Banna, Director General of Water
Talk about new water sources, as the water need has reached 5 million cubic meters annually and is increasing due to the steady increase in the population
Talk about Sheikh Radwan’s pond and the importance of separating sewage water from rain water
Talk about rainwater and clean wastewater projects, pumping them into the ground, and digging recovery wells.
Mr. Monther Shiblak, Head of the Coastal Water Authority
He pointed out that Damour Company has entered a difficult field, that the work you are talking about is at the level of governments, and that there is a government plan that must be reviewed.
He pointed out that the sewage plant that was installed in Abasan has no future, as work is underway to connect all areas to the central station located east of Khan Yunis. It also needs operational and power expenses that cannot be provided at the present time.
He pointed out that Damour Company can work in the field of developing professional capabilities that have eroded over time and bring operating expenses to some projects.
Maher Salem from Gaza Municipality spoke
He pointed out that Damour Company could focus on implementing some projects such as the Sheikh Radwan pond project and the sewage pumping project to the sea and not expand much in projects and big plans as the mentioned projects are of great importance at the present time.
He talked about pumping the water of Sheikh Radwan Yarket into the sea due to the large amount of water that is directed to it, and that some of the water can be diverted to other places so that the water from the pond is used instead of pumping it to the sea.
He talked about the possibility of returning mosques’ water to the underground reservoir and that it reaches about half a million cups annually.
It is possible to work on updating the organizational structure of wastewater and drinking water, which is of great benefit in planning projects and setting priorities.
The quality of wastewater in the olive season affects the work of the treatment plants.
Dr. Munther Salem spoke
Damour must cooperate with local research centers before establishing the Environmental Research Center.
Focus on raising awareness of citizens to deal with environmental issues.
Attention to training for cadres working in the field of water, environment and agriculture.
Mr. Bahaa Agha Environmental Quality Director
Work within the framework of government planning Master Plan
Utilization of solid waste in energy and others.
Solve the problem of seashore pollution
The Chairman and members of the Board of Directors of Damour Company spoke and clarified some of the points that were raised by the attendees and promised to communicate with all the parties that participated in the workshop to follow up on what Damour Company can do based on the topics discussed.
