Our director Stano Bielik writes directly from Syria about our aid in Latakia.

Armed conflict has broken out again in Syria. The country has been under enormous strain for years - war, earthquakes and an economic embargo have caused immense damage. A young mother from Damascus, who wished to remain anonymous, confided in me: „I guess we are a very beautiful and important country when we have all the world powers competing with us... Why won't they finally leave us alone?“ I didn't have an answer to that, I just told her that our job is to help people in need.

 

 

In Latakia, we recently completed the reconstruction of a water pipeline that was destroyed by the earthquake. Thanks to our great partners and contractors, we decided to use the money saved on another worthwhile project. The city asked us to help them procure large-capacity household waste containers - a seemingly trivial but crucial issue for the functioning of a large city. After lengthy administrative processes, we managed to secure not only the planned 36 containers, but as many as 58.

 

We have been closely monitoring the security situation in Syria over the last few days, which is changing by the hour. After a morning briefing, the security team agreed to let us leave, and we arrived in Latakia on the day of the container distribution. Yesterday they were brought from Hama - and we were lucky, because today the situation there is much more dangerous.

 

 

The containers are really big, so their placement required careful planning. The municipality decided that they would be placed on the three main streets of the city, where they could be easily emptied by garbage trucks. Transporting the containers was a challenge - the crane truck had to stop at each bridge and check the height in order to cross without any problems. After a few tense moments, we reached the city centre. The unloading of the 280-kilogram containers was accompanied by the incredible skill of the crane operators - sometimes it resembled acrobatics.

 

Local residents stopped by - some with a bag of garbage, others with questions or comments. Many noticed the ADRA sign and SlovakAid - Good Idea Slovakia, some even mentioned the old Czechoslovakia, as there are still old Škoda cars on the local roads.

 

Saying goodbye, the local government chief told us: „I have had a wonderful day with you today. If you could provide 300 more containers, that would be fantastic.“ With a smile, we thanked him for the great cooperation and said goodbye.

The work lasted until late in the evening. Tired but satisfied, we finally got to eat - we had breakfast, lunch and dinner all at once. Such is a day in the field.

 

Get involved in helping Syria and Lebanon. Donate to the ADRA public collection through the portal darujme.sk. 

 

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The project SAMRS/2023/HUM/1/5 - Water for Life: Rehabilitation of Water Infrastructure for Earthquake Affected Communities in Syria (RINSE) is funded by the Official Development Assistance of the Slovak Republic and implemented in cooperation with the partner organization ADRA Syria.