In Tadjourah, women are daily mobilized to keep the city and the beaches clean

June 12, 2022

For the celebration of the World Environment and Ocean Days (June 5 and June 8) The UNDP representative in Djibouti, Mrs. Emma Anoh, wished to join the beach cleaning campaign organized by about fifty women of the Association of Women Engaged for the Protection of the Environment of Tadjourah (AFEPE).

The Association des Femmes Engagées pour la Protection de l'Environnement de Tadjourah (AFEPE) is a women's association serving the well-being of the local population that manages waste on a daily basis on the main roads and on all the beaches of Tadjourah. This women's association takes care of the collection of household waste in the city of Tadjourah thanks to many volunteers.

As part of the clean beaches project launched in 2019, with the support of the GEF-UNDP microfinance program, the association has launched awareness campaigns in the 13 neighborhoods of the city and has sensitized more than 5,000 people on environmental protection. They have set up an environmental committee of a dozen people per neighborhood who ensure the management of household waste, participate in community actions and mobilize neighborhood residents to participate in cleaning actions.

In each neighborhood, the association has mobilized twenty-five women to voluntarily contribute to the cleanliness of their city and each household participates with 300 fdj to allow the association to cover daily expenses such as transportation, reveals Fatouma Mohamed barkat, the association's secretary.

AFEPE has also organized ten education and advocacy workshops for more than 300 people in the different neighborhoods and five seminars for neighborhood and community leaders to discuss the environmental problem and ensure the cleanliness of the beaches

As acknowledgements, the representative of the UNDP in Djibouti, Mrs. Emma Anoh, gave to the president of the Association, Mrs. Madina Saleh Derkallah, some material to be able to amplify their cleaning activities and a Certificate of recognition for their continuous commitment for the protection of the environment.