Mrs. Yousriya Loza Sawiris ►Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Qualified
Accountant and Financial Advisor, Founder and Board Member of the
Association for Protection of the Environment. She serves on many Egyptian
boards: the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, the National
Council of Women, the Social Fund for Development, and the Cairo
Municipality, and she is a member of the Board for the Egyptian Water and
Wastewater Regulatory Agency. Mrs. Loza Sawiris is the Founder and President
of the Egyptian Organization for Street Children, Founder and President of
the Egypt Liver Care Society. Mrs. Loza Sawiris holds a Bachelor of
Commerce degree from Cairo University as well as an MBA from the American
University in Cairo. She is an alumna of several of Harvard University's
Executive Education Programs (1998-2010) and has received a number of awards
such as the Global Women's Leadership Award in Cairo in 2006. Mrs. Loza Sawiris is dedicated to the improvement of the livelihoods of the
garbage collector communities, and served as chair of the Association for
the Protection of the Environment for twelve years. She is an alumna of
several of Harvard university ‘s executive education programs (1998-2011).
Founding Member, Cleveland Clinic International Leadership Board.
Building Expertise and Creating Infrastructure
Working as one of the founders of Association of the Protection of
the Environment (APE), in 1984 Mrs. Loza Sawiris adopted the garbage
collectors in the area of Mokattam (later called Manshiet Nasser). Complete
care was given in the areas of health, education, and income generation. In
1998, Mrs. Loza Sawiris added another area, Tora, which became a model of
excellence - the garbage collectors now live in concrete homes, collect the
garbage from the nearby town of Máadi and transfer it to another area,
Kattamia. Thus, a triangle was created in Kattamia: one location where
garbage collectors live; another where they transfer the garbage; and
another where the machinery recycles the garbage into commercially viable
products. It is notable that the complete small units of transfer stations
are rented by each of the garbage collectors who previously brought the
garbage to their homes. Kattamia was developed in 1999 as the location for
the major activities for resale, recycling, and reuse of the garbage
collected: thus only 5% is dumped.
Initial Application of Expertise and
Equipment
No More landfill with Zero Waste: 22 kilometers north of Hurgada
on the Red Sea, The Tourist Resort of El Gouna has recycled all garbage with
no landfill and zero waste since 1991. Here, the experience and machines
developed at Mokattam, Tora and Kattamia were successfully applied in an
enterprise which simultaneously provides labor intensive employment and
income generation for garbage collectors. Moreover, this project ensures
that unlike the guests of the thirteen hotels, the marina and the
golf-course at El Gouna, the garbage never stays overnight.