For Dana Gas, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is about directly contributing to economic and social development in a way that safeguards natural resources and the environment whilst respecting the rights of each individual.
We are focused on delivering superior and sustainable long-term value to all stakeholders, while making a positive contribution to the societies in which we operate.
During 2010, our contributions were in the UAE, Egypt and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and were focused on the environment, health, schools and education.
UAE
Educating the Next Generation to Care for our Environment
Dana Gas is working closely with Bee’ah, a public private company in partnership with the Sharjah City Municipality, on a comprehensive bilingual (English Arabic) programme to educate the school children of Sharjah in the importance of caring for the environment with the focus being waste management and the three R’s: Reduce, Recycle and Re-use. The work takes the form of both interactive sessions with pupils as well as the provision of digital tools to teachers enabling us to reach over 100,000 students of grades 1 to 12 residing in Sharjah. This programme was launched in September of 2010.
Encouraging the Sharing of Knowledge
Dana Gas is actively pursuing the sponsorship of a fellow in Petroleum Resources between Cambridge University and the American University of Sharjah for a five-year term. In addition to carrying out research and teaching duties at each institution, the Fellow will also organise industry-focused workshops in Sharjah.
Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Providing Local Employment
64% of the contracted and casual labour force working for us in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is from a 30-km radius of the Khor Mor gas plant, providing significant employment opportunities.
Clean Water Project
As a part of identifying high impact neighbourhood community give-back programmes, our project team in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq identified three nearby villages that faced the everyday problem of clean water availability. Water had to be collected from a source some three hours’ walking distance, which was done through the extremes of the winters and summers and across rough terrain. As a part of giving back to community, a 10 km pipeline was laid from a water well (previously drilled by the project team) to three villages. This was followed up with laying a combination of 1.2 km of small-size pipelines to the taps of houses and connecting over six large storage tanks in these villages. As a result, these villages now have access to a continuous supply of clean water, allowing the ladies of the villages to devote more time to family care and ensuring the children are attending education.
Ongoing Support to the Local Community
In addition to the water project, the Khor Mor team have provided books, furniture and used computers to three nearby schools as well as providing continued support and minor repairs to existing infrastructure to help the community run these schools efficiently. They have also helped in regularly repairing generator sets to ensure villages have their lights on through all seasons.
Egypt
Dana Gas seeks an active role as an agent of change and wishes to contribute to the development of the communities in which it operates in Egypt.
Renovation of Sharabas Primary School
Dana Gas renovated the Sharabas Primary School, a school of some 730 pupils and 40 teachers, in the Faraskour District of the Damietta Governate. The fabric of the building was upgraded and repaired, and new furniture and classroom equipment provided along with training for the teachers in the use of the new classroom technologies. This comprehensive programme has ensured that the improved facilities at the school are exploited to the full.
Health Units Refurbishment Project
Renovation works have been carried out at the San El Hagar El Baharia Primary Health Care Unit in the Hesanya District in the Sharkia Governate. In addition to renovating the infrastructure of the facility, the equipment and systems used have been upgraded, and training has been provided to ensure that the highest quality health services are provided to the community. Additionally the link between the health unit and the surrounding community is being strengthened by raising public awareness of hygiene and health related issues.
