Sameh Seif Ghaly is the Executive Director of the Together Association for Development and Environment (TA), which works to build and maintain improved sewage systems as means to improve sanitation and environmental conditions in rural Egypt. By offering a more cost-effective dual chamber septic tank that can be constructed using locally-available material and labor, the Together Association brings clean sewage systems to households in areas that are underserved by government programs and deprived of hygienic living conditions.
Additionally, Sameh constructs village-wide sewage system to connect household septic tanks to a communal filtering facility using gravity-fed pipes. The Together Association has successfully created a viable, community-based model to improve water quality, sanitation, and public health in rural areas through low-cost sewage systems. The Together Association spreads this new technology through a network of like-minded grassroots organizations to advocate for wider adoption of cleaner, self-sustaining sewage systems.
Similarly, by encouraging the development of Community Development Associations to instruct villagers how to properly maintain the waste systems, Sameh ensures the projects’ long term success. In addition, the Together Association has implemented a project to help farmers recycle domestic, animal, and agricultural waste as organic fertilizers.
Sameh is both a Synergos' Arab World Social Innovator and a Pioneer of Egypt.
Learn about the Together Association's approach to supporting local ownership of sanitation projects