Impact
The Water Crisis in Palestine
There is a growing water crisis in Palestine. In Gaza, 97% of water is unfit for human consumption. Numerous military attacks on the Gaza Strip have devastated Gaza’s water infrastructure and the siege of Gaza has created a shortage of pipes, building materials, fuel and electricity. The water in Gaza is polluted with untreated sewage, agricultural chemicals, and it is brackish from seawater. Gaza’s water crisis poses grave health risks to children.
The Maia Project
In September 2009, the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) launched the Maia Project (Arabic for “water”) to provide Palestinian children with clean, safe drinking water. The Maia Project provides safe clean, drinking water for tens of thousands of Palestinian children by installing water purification and desalination units in schools throughout the Gaza Strip.
Project Background
This project began when the Student Parliament at the UN Boys’ School in Bureij Refugee Camp, Gaza were given the opportunity to choose one thing they most wanted for their school: They chose to have clean drinking water. MECA’s partner in Gaza heard about this vote and, after meeting with representatives from the school and the Student Parliament, came to MECA to see if we could respond to the children’s request for drinking water. MECA provided the funds to build a water purification and desalination unit for the school in 2007.