Lebanon Uncategorized

Lebanon: Improving water supply through “water is life” program in Akkar district

ACTED 2017

Beirut, June 2nd, 2017 – ACTED is honored to announce their new “Water is Life” program, an EU-funded project in collaboration with the North Lebanon Water Establishment (NLWE) aiming to improve water supply in target municipalities of Akkar district, North of Lebanon.

As part of the community engagement efforts to increase subscriptions in the area and improve cost recovery for NLWE, ACTED has hosted a number of events and activities in partnership with NLWE in Akkar as part of the ‘Water if Life’ program. This program aims to gather students from different schools in Akkar and offer them the opportunity to learn from key stakeholders in the water sector about the importance of preserving water.

Thanks to the support of the EU, ACTED is implementing a project to increase water access for communities in Akkar and ensure sustainable use of precious water resources for current and future generations.

“Water is Life” Forum to mobilise youth community

ACTED 2017

On April 6, 2017, ACTED organised a conference on the importance of Water in partnership with Balamand University and the NLWE in Baino, Akkar. Students from three different schools in Akkar participated in the event and were addressed by different specialists and stakeholders working on a variety of water related issues, such as water treatment and conservation, in an attempt to raise awareness and mobilise younger generations to take interest in the most important resource in life.

Increasing community commitment in water conservation: Student Workshop in Qoubayat

As a next step, students from two high schools in the Qoubayat, Akkar, have completed projects on various topics such as the negative impacts of private boreholes, the importance of water conservation and the beneficial role of community level water infrastructure. On June 1, their parents and the wider community of Qoubayat were invited to the NLWE sub-office in Qoubayat for a student workshop in which the students presented their projects to ACTED’s team and NLWE staff.

Following the presentation, students as well as teachers were presented with Certificates of Appreciation for their involvement throughout this program. In addition, the top three presentations were awarded a token of appreciation from ACTED and NLWE staff. This student workshop, led by ACTED, is intended to improve the communication between the population and the water establishment through direct contact with NLWE staff. The ultimate goal is to encourage an increase in subscriptions to the NLWE networks (currently approximately 6% of the population).