Introduction

People in remote arid and severely hot areas of the Eastern Desert have no access to the most basic forms of services such as water, health care and electricity. They are a very poor and primitive community known as ElAbabda and their way of living depends on getting 70 L.E./family/month from the Ministry of Social Affairs as desertification allowance as well as animal breeding. They move around searching for greens to feed their animals and depend on polluted groundwater for drinking. The only available source of this is a limited small well known as El Gahliya which provides only 7 meters cubed of water daily (i.e. 0.3 l/c/d) and to which they have to travel many kilometers reaching up to 35 km to bring water in jars. Apart from that they drink from dug wells containing contaminated water scattered around in the desert. To them, a glass of clean potable water is almost a dream.

  


 

 

 

 

The location of the project on the satellite image of Egypt

 

In such areas, groundwater and solar energy are among the very few available resources. Thus an integrated approach whereby both those resources are optimally used to improve the standard of living of such a community would be very much in need. It is to serve the whole community by providing approximately 4.5 liters of potable water per capita per day (the system is to pump out water at a rate of 8m3/hour and is to work automatically from sunrise to sunset).

Moreover, being so primitive, this community is in desperate need for such a development initiative that would instigate community mobilization and participation, create jobs, emphasis gender and child care issues and provide the very much-needed health care through medical campaigns.

1) Gebel ElMoaeqil
2) the southeastern face of Gebel Abraq, northeastern border of wadi ElHodein .
3) the eastern rim of the southwestern wall of Gebel Abraq, close to Bir Abu Saafa along the northern border of wadi ElHodein.
4) the conflux of wadi ElHodein, wadi Amreit and wadi ElAnid.