Canada Making a Difference In Egypt through CIDA
Part 1: Improving Brick Factories to Save Lives
Canadians are making a difference in many parts of the world, through organizations
such as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); an organization that
supports sustainable development in developing countries in order to reduce poverty and
to contribute to a more secure, equitable, and more prosperous world. In Egypt, CIDA is
engaged in projects that tackle both societal and environmental issues. These projects and
initiatives are improving the lives of many Egyptians in different parts of the country. In
Cairo, CIDA introduced its Climate Challenge Initiative about 2.5 years ago. Although
this project just ended in May 2006, its success and its impact are still very much seen.
Cairo, with a population of nearly 20 million, suffers greatly from air pollution. It is
known as one of the most polluted parts of the world, along with cities such as New
Delhi, Tokyo and Mexico City. With this in mind, CIDA implemented its Climate
Change Initiative to help improve the climate. The aim of this initiative was to reduce
Green-House-Gas (GHG) emissions by converting 50 brick-making factories on the
outskirts of Cairo from burning a heavy-oil called mazot to burning natural gas as the
production fuel. When factories burn mazot, the pollutants released in the emissions are
hazardous to the environment and the people. Some of the chemicals released in the
emissions contribute to skin disorders, respiratory illnesses such as asthma and
pneumonia and certain kinds of cancers. They also affect the agricultural life as they
contribute to the increased mortality for natural plants and animals. Once these 50
factories changed to natural gas, these problems were reduced.
CIDA worked with these 50 factories, an Egyptian government agency (the Egyptian
Environmental Affair Agency), a natural gas company and other secondary players, some
of which were involved in designing the burners for the factories. While this initiative
was a revolution for these brick factories, it also proved to be a challenge to CIDA since
they had to bring all stakeholders together and provide technical support simultaneously.
But thankfully, these challenges were overcome and the project has been a success. Its
success can be seen through the positive environmental changes as well as the replication
of this pilot project, which is currently being organized. A study conducted to evaluate
the impact of this conversion indicates that there is improved air quality and cancer risks
for many chemicals have been reduced by over 90%. As well, other health risks for many
chemicals have been reduced by over 80%. Humans, animals and crops are all benefiting
from this conversion as they are inhaling fewer pollutants. There is also the plan to
implement a large-scale brick factory conversion program in Egypt through the
leveraging of Canadian private-sector investment. This new initiative will convert over
200 brick factories in the Arab Abu Saed and El Saaf areas. Currently, the converted 50
factories emit 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide less per year than they were emitting
while they were burning mazot. This annual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is
equivalent to 300,000 vehicles on the streets of Cairo. This conversion has also proven to
be economically viable as the factories continue to make profits. Through such projects,
made available through Canadian funds, Canada is changing lives by improving the
environment. Canadians should be very proud of what Canada is doing in the world.
According to Eman Omran, the SME Program Team Leader of CIDA, implementing
such projects leave a very positive impression of Canada to the government of Egypt and
this is because Canada is known for working openly, taking risks and sharing
information. “The government trusts Canada and often asks Canada for its assistance in
different programs,” she further said. “When people see the results, they are impressed
and start replicating the models that are introduced by our projects,” says Eman. Mr.
Mamdouh Afia, the former Project Monitor who monitored this project on behalf of
CIDA, took me to one of the brick factories to see how these factories function. We drove
to Arab Abu Saed, which lies in the outskirts of Cairo in the desert, where over 200 brick
factories are located. As we approached the factories, I saw two kinds of smoke
emissions released into the atmosphere from the hundreds of chimneys. While some was
white in colour, the majority of the emissions were black. Mamdouh soon told me that
the white emissions, which are made of pure water vapour, come from the factories using
natural gas, with the black emissions released from mazot-burning factories. “Just by
converting one chimney into burning natural gas instead of mazot, you save the health of
at least 50 people,” said Mamdouh.
When we walked into one of the factories, I saw number of young people working; all of
which are male. While many of them are in their mid to late teenage years, some are
younger than that. The young ones, between the ages of 11to 13, were full of smiles and
very cheerful. As I spoke to them, it became clear to me that these children are working
here because they do not want to see their families starve. It’s their way of life and they
accept it wholeheartedly; they make their days worthwhile by having fun together while
working. The factory owner, Mr. Salah Abu Ghor, told me that most of his workers,
irrespective of age, work and live at the factory for five days straight; they get two to
three days off, where many of them go back to their towns or villages to visit their
families. He also told me that there are no discrepancies in their wages from factory to
factory; all brick factory workers of this area make the same level of wages. As we stood
under the sun of Cairo, the young boys wanted me to take pictures of them with their
bricks on their backs. They were all smiling, which made me see life in a different light.
If I had bricks on my back, in that kind of hot climate, I don’t think I’d be smiling. They
work hard and they are happy.
A young man by the name of Khalil Mesleh, 12, is responsible for transporting bricks to
and from the burning section of the factory with a donkey. “I have to work because my
father died and I want to help my mother,” he told me. The eldest in his family, he spends
Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at his house, which is 20 km from the factory. The
remainder of the week is spent working. “But I go to school,” he said, “when school
opens in one month, I will stop working because I need to go to school.” Mahmoud
Abdulaziz is a 19 year old university student, studying agriculture. He works at the
factory to save money for his tuition fees. It’s a summer job for him. Hameed
Abdulwahid, 11, comes to work with his father to pick up the broken bricks. “It is a very
important job,” he says joyfully, “I will take over my father’s job when I am big.” From
the two hours I was there, I saw how the workers stick together. They are all friends and
they have a good time working together. When they’re not working, they play football
together, eat together and live together.