JEDDAH — A non-governmental charity organization in the Kingdom has teamed up with a German company in its global initiative to conserve water. Saudi Arabia's H.A. Sharbatly Foundation has joined forces with Grohe, a leading manufacturer of sanitary fittings, in its "Turn Water into Food" initiative during the holy month of Ramadan. The initiative, part of Grohe's global water conservation program Watercare, is an extension of the Green Mosque program conducted in 2014 with the Sharbatly Foundation where 3,460 liters of water saved in mosques were in effect turned into 346 boxes of food and distributed to families in need. "Grohe is on a global mission to help reduce average water consumption rates year on year, not only through our advanced product technologies but also through awareness campaigns to change mindsets and habits. These efforts are especially relevant in Saudi Arabia where the amount of fresh water consumption per capita is double that of the world average while at the same time being situated in one of the world's driest regions," said Antoine Khalife, Grohe VP for the Levant and Gulf. “Together with the Sharabatly Foundation, we hope to increase public awareness when it comes to water conservation techniques and to secure the future of this precious natural resource." "Turn water Into Food" builds on the Foundation's Ramadan food distribution program that provides food for fasting worshippers throughout Ramadan at mosques. “The collaboration between GROHE and the Sharbatly Foundation proved to be highly successful and consequently we have decided to further our relationship,” said Sayed Ibrahim Hassan Sharbatly, vice president of the board of trustees at Hassan Abbas Sharbatly Foundation for Community Service. “This holistic program, created specifically to save natural resources and provide food for the people in need, has two levels of success that reflects the true meaning of Ramadan and makes the program worthy.” The "Green Mosque" initiative, launched in the Middle East in 2009, is part of GROHE's global Watercare campaign, which seeks to increase public awareness about water conservation techniques and to secure the future of this precious natural resource. In 2014, Grohe in association with Sharbatly Foundation installed 40 environmentally-friendly self-closing faucets in the ablution rooms inside mosques run by the NGO.
