DP World donates vital water filters in Djibouti
Global Terminal Operator DP World announced today the donation of 170 water storage and filtration units to more than 60 rural communities across Djibouti. An estimated 100,000 people, or half the rural population of Djibouti, do not have access to clean drinking water.
DP World CEO Mohammad Sharaf marked the start of the filter distribution with a visit to a “SafeTStop” community resource centre in an area called PK-12, near DP World’s newly inaugurated Doraleh Container Terminal, to formally hand over four of the filters. PK-12 began some three years ago as a simple rest-stop for truckers bound for the port of Djibouti, and has since grown into a virtual city of some 60,000 people, most of whom have no reliable access to safe drinking water.
Mr Sharaf said, “At DP World, we recognise clearly that we are fundamentally part of the communities in which we operate. Often working with local partners, we strive to make a practical and very real difference to people’s lives, both indirectly, through the contribution we make to the community by providing efficient infrastructure, and directly, through community activity that meets basic needs and protects the environment. The water filter programme here in Djibouti is an example of this practical approach.”
The filter programme was made possible by the coordinated efforts of DP World and Dimension Data, an IT services specialist and DP World supplier, as well as Family Health International (FHI), one of the largest nonprofit organisations active in international public health.
Run by FHI and funded by the United Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNICEF, with backing from the Government of Djibouti, the SafeTStop programme and resource centre at PK-12 offer AIDS-related counseling along with recreational facilities to truckers and vulnerable local populations along the highway linking DP World’s new Doraleh Container Terminal with the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. The resource centre is made from converted shipping containers. There are more than ten such resource centres established across Africa.
FHI has committed to distribute the filters to clinics and schools throughout the rural provinces of Ali Sabieh, Tadjourah, Obock and Arta. Other sites served include Khor-angar, Koutabouya, Assassan, Guirori, Sankel, and PK-12. The Forbes Aquasure Storage Water purifiers were manufactured by Forbes Lux, one of India’s largest manufacturers of water filtration devices.
