Aleppo, 12 July 2013 – For several months humanitarian agencies have been issuing health warnings in relation to the collapse of infrastructure and municipal services in Syria. In Aleppo, as temperatures increase above 30 degrees Celsius, reports of leishmaniasis and other preventable diseases are on the increase.
Despite the ongoing conflict, members of the local NGO, Min Ajel 7alab (i.e. For Aleppo) decided to do something to help reduce the health risk. In late April, they launched a one-day initiative, alongside local NGOs in a coordinated campaign, to clean up certain areas of the city.
"The place in Aleppo where all the rubbish has been dumped stinks. There is waste everywhere, including in residential areas. Something had to be done", explained JRS volunteer, Farah*.
In preparation for the campaign, many coordination meetings took place between the participating NGOs, and then with the municipality and governor of Aleppo. The main objective was to clear garbage and other waste, wash the streets and fumigate.
Many different groups were involved, including volunteers from local NGOs, internally displaced persons who live in the areas concerned and municipality workers. Each group involved in the campaign was assigned responsibility for cleaning up a particularly area.
JRS Aleppo, in cooperation with the Scouts, was responsible for a number of neighbourhoods, including al-Aziziyeh, al Suleimaniyeh, al-Seryan, Sheikh Taha and Gare du Baghdad. From 9am until 4pm, hundreds of people took part in the clean-up, including 75 JRS volunteers.
Many of the people whom JRS supports live in these neighbourhoods, as well as two of the school-shelters under JRS management.
"We swept up all the rubbish, even dead rats and cats from under cars and on the streets. Each NGO was responsible for providing gloves, brooms and other necessary equipment for the participating volunteers. It's just a start; we have to now plan how to carry this campaign to every area of the city".
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*Name changed for security reasons
Nour Kabbach, JRS Aleppo Communications Officer