LOCATION: Al Ubeidiya Municipality, Bethlehem Governorate
The municipality of Ubeidiya in Bethlehem Governorate is responsible for providing water, electricity and sanitation to 17,000 inhabitants. Ubeidiya is a poor community in which only 27% of homes are connected to the sewer system. During the strategic planning process, the municipality conducted a study of the Ubeidiya and established ambitious benchmarks: to have streets as clean as Beit Jala, to deliver services as professionally as Ramallah, to manage public relations as well as Bethlehem. The municipality promoted its plan throughout the community, sharing with 70-80 people at a time. By installing a computer network in its accounting department, the municipality automated its services. The immediate goal is to enable the community members to apply for services by email and reducing response time to 48 hours. Intrigued to learn about Millennium Development Goals for sustainable development and environmentally friendly projects presented during the strategic planning training, the municipality has applied for and received assistance from Qatar to build a system of solar-powered road lights between the towns of Ubeidiya and Bethany.