Water Purification through Solar Panels Project Gets Substantial Support

The Czech government has donated 1.25 million Danish krones (about US$198,000) as a contribution to a project of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Denmark in Syria. The project is co-sponsored by ADRA Switzerland. 

ADRA Denmark is responsible for setting up a novel system that purifies water without using chemicals and with the help of solar panels. It is intended to provide returning refugees and internally displaced persons with drinking water. In Syria, ADRA Denmark supports the reconstruction of vital infrastructures and services such as water and sanitation systems.

Once completed, the clean water will reach around 13,000 households in rural areas outside the capital, Damascus. The project is mainly funded by the European Union Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).

The Role of “Reverse Osmosis”

“In Syria, the inhabitants have major problems with the electricity supply, as I myself experienced on my last trip,” Insa Deimann, coordinator of ADRA Denmark’s humanitarian projects in Syria, said. He explained that electricity is only available at certain times of the day, which can affect the water supply, among other things. “The use of solar cells is, therefore, a well-thought-out solution that ensures that water purification does not suddenly come to a standstill.”

In 2019, ADRA put out to tender the installation of a system that could filter drinking water using reverse osmosis, a method that helps remove the nitrates from the water. It was only in the second round of tenders that a qualified contractor was found. “Not many companies in Syria can install the reverse osmosis systems together with the solar cells because the concept is new and innovative in the humanitarian sector,” Deimann said.

The charity would install the same filtering system in other places in Syria if it received enough funds for similar projects, ADRA Denmark said.

ADRA’s help primarily benefits people who return to their communities after being displaced. They are usually among the most vulnerable because they now have nothing. ADRA’s support for the restoration of water systems, health facilities, and schools in various areas of Syria will improve the life chances of returnees and internally displaced persons to build a new life for themselves, the aid organization stressed.

Under the partnership agreement with ECHO, aid organizations will have to raise part of the money needed for their projects themselves, with matching funds from the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD).

Together with ADRA Switzerland, ADRA Czech Republic, ADRA Denmark, and DANIDA (Danish International Development Agency), the Czech government has now also contributed to the total budget of more than 29 million Danish krones (US$4.6 million).

The original version of this story was posted by Adventistischer Pressedienst.