APE "Association for the Protection of Environment"
AAEC "Ama Arab Environment Company"
The improvement of living standards through environmental awareness in seven districts in the northern area of Cairo in Egypt: (Shobra, Rod Al-Farag, Al-Sahel, Al-Zeitoun, Hadayeq Al-Qobba, Al-Zawya, and Al-Sharabeya) is the main focus of the project. The area, which comprises 2.3 millions of inhabitants and produces 1500 / 2000 tons of solid waste/day, is in a diffused status of environmental, sanitary and social degradation that the project will contribute in reducing. The participation aimed, in fact, to improve the behaviors of the resident population concerning the environmental issues by increasing the awareness, influencing the guidelines of the community leaders and the decisions of the local administrators, yet by other interventions in specific fields. The project initiatives are conducted according to logic of community development of community being involving schools, cultural associations and NGOs which are active in the Northern Cairo, religious leaders other than the local institutions, some vulnerable groups and sanitary workers. The long term sustainability remains the most important priority of the project that is placed as objective; the transformation of educational actions and awareness, already experimented successfully in a true and permanent community empowerment system. To such aim, more valuable professions will be addressed to constitute an associative and permanent structure able to continue generating and catalyzing resources to be focused and coordinated on behalf of future educational and environmental initiatives.