The project, which is funded by the EU and GIZ Participatory Development Program, comprises a number of inter-related and mutually supporting interventions that aim at improving living conditions of the urban poor residing in Ezbet Allam-El Khoussous City in Egypt, especially for youth and women. The action embodies interventions to improve solid waste management (SWM) service by augmenting the capacity of local authorities with additional equipment that will increase collection and disposal efficiency and frequency. In the same vein, the project supported the increase involvement of the civil society organizations (CSOs) in environmental service delivery, a feature of good local governance. The project helped to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of the SWM service inside and outside the target area. The project also carried out clean up and tree planting campaigns in the project area. It supported the establishment of a clinic in the area, and involved the civil society in the management of the clinic.

A well-tuned awareness raising campaign was launched to build people’s environmental consciousness, to inform them of the impacts of their indiscriminate waste disposal practices and to broaden their understanding of their responsibilities.

Since women are very important stakeholders in SWM as they are primarily responsible for the family hygiene and household waste management on a day-to-day basis which directly affects the health of the community, special attention was given to reaching out to women’s groups and their awareness was raised to a great extent. This effort made sure that community members understood the solid waste issues, that this understanding reached their consciousness and that they were sensitized to their roles and responsibilities.

Awareness-building lectures were given to schoolchildren.  The clean up and tree planting campaigns were implemented to grab their attention and develop a comprehensive understanding and sense of responsibility. This not only created awareness within the new generation, leaders of the future, but also indirectly increased parents’ awareness of the solid waste issues.