CMWU Completes the Public Awareness Campaign for the Rainwater Collection Pond Project in Al-Jineina Neighborhood, Rafah

Funded by the Paltel Group

CMWU Completes the Implementation of a Public Awareness Campaign within the Rainwater Collection Pond Construction Project in Al-Jineina Neighborhood, Rafah

CMWU - Gaza

CMWU has completed the implementation of a group of activities for the public awareness campaign within the rainwater collection pond construction project in Al-Jineina neighborhood, Rafah, funded by the Paltel Group, with the campaign's implementation taking about two months, through which the Utility aimed to raise residents' awareness of the importance of benefiting from rainwater as one of the solutions to ease the severity of the water crisis, and ways to preserve rainwater collection networks and maintain the cleanliness of the collected water to achieve the desired benefit from it by injecting it into the groundwater aquifer.

The project also aimed to warn of the danger of children approaching the water collection ponds and urging residents to bear their responsibility towards protecting their children by preserving the safety of the fence surrounding the water ponds and alerting and preventing children from approaching them or playing inside them.

The Media and Public Awareness Unit at CMWU oversaw training a field work team that implemented numerous activities through which specific awareness messages were conveyed, the most important of which was warning against approaching the water collection ponds, especially children, and maintaining the cleanliness of the water ponds and not connecting sewage lines to the rainwater collection networks, to prevent sewage water from mixing with rainwater and prevent pollution.

The campaign's activities targeted all groups through various and multiple activities, with women targeted through home visits and organizing workshops for women, and awareness messages were also directed to men through organizing field meetings with men from the residents of the area adjacent to the water pond and visiting shop owners and workshops located in the area.

Out of our concern for children's safety and ensuring the awareness messages reach them, awareness meetings were held for all the male and female students of Al-Jineina Joint Preparatory School located near the water collection pond and kindergartens in the area, to warn children of the danger of playing near or approaching the water ponds or tampering with the fence surrounding them, and to explain the importance of this project in providing water for their future.

On another note, the implementation of the field awareness activities was accompanied by supporting media activities, where awareness messages were directed to all residents, focusing on the importance of rainwater collection projects and warning against behaviors that lead to polluting their water and alerting to the danger of children approaching them, with the awareness messages conveyed through several media activities, including printing the awareness messages on the back of CMWU's bill, a radio advertisement, murals, and an awareness poster distributed during the implementation of the field activities.

CMWU affirms the importance of public awareness campaigns accompanying infrastructure projects, which aim to ensure mobilizing community support and involving residents in facilitating the implementation of projects without obstacles, in addition to comprehensive awareness regarding water issues and the importance of preserving it and supporting projects that contribute to easing the severity of the crisis.

In this context, CMWU extends its thanks to the Paltel Group, as a leading institution in community work, for its cooperation and support in raising residents' awareness of water issues in the Gaza Strip in a way that improves their health and living conditions.