On Saturday, April 16, 2016, the Participatory Development Programme in Urban Areas (PDP) held a joint community event in a primary school in El Warraq area, in cooperation with Giza Governorate.
The event was very successful, drawing a large number of El Warrak residents around 250 residents mostly youth, women and children in addition to natural leaders, representatives of the District Staff and others. The event introduced projects that will be implemented by 5 NGOs contracted by PDP and funded by the European Union and the German Government to implement 6 projects in the fields of environment and education.
The opening address was delivered by Dr. Wehenpohl, PDP Programme Coordinator, in which he thanked the Governorate of Giza for its efforts and welcomed the residents and the NGOs to the event. At the top table he was joined by the Deputy Giza Governor, Dr. Manal Awad, and General Abdel Kader Bassiouny District Chief of El Warraq. Both commended the PDP’s efforts in El Warrak, a priority area for the Governorate. Dr. Manal provided an overview of the upcoming medium-scale infrastructure projects in El Warrak that will be implemented by the Governorate. Addressing the residents of El Warrak, Dr. Manal said, “the Giza Governorate and the PDP are cooperating closely to improve your living conditions and fulfill your needs. The projects in the fields of solid waste management and road paving will begin next month and you will witness many changes in your area.”
The grant beneficiaries presented the projects they will be implementing in the next two years, in order to, improve the services provided to the local residents of El Warrak. The speeches were followed by a development market, where NGOs set up booths and organised activities for the residents (i.e. CEOSS provided a medical convoy for eye check-ups for 100 patients and Sawiris Foundation for Environment and Development set up models for biogas units and solar panels). COSPE, the Egyptian European Association and Handicap International were among the NGOs to have booths during the event.
These community events are part of a series of events that are taking place in four informal areas in Cairo and Giza to introduce the communities to the grant beneficiaries, to activate community participation in the implementation of measures by fostering networking between the grant beneficiaries and the residents. In addition, it serves as one of the ways PDP maintains its linkage to the communities.
The PDP is a German-Egyptian development measure that receives core funding from the German Government (BMZ) and co-financing by the European Union. It improves living conditions of poor urban populations by funding soft measures in the fields of health, transportation, education, employment, youth recreational services, environment and climate change. These measures are selected through grant schemes in accordance with EU procedures. The PDP also funds the Governorates of Cairo and Giza to upgrade infrastructure in the informal areas through direct awards.