Abdulhameed Hussain Marafie

1915 – 1984

Abulhameed Hussain Marafie was born in Alwassat neighbourhood. His house was situated on a hill facing the sea. He is regarded as the first Kuwaiti contractor to set up electrical connections in the Kuwait Oil Company sites and also in Almaydan School in Sharq area, Aljibllah and Alwistta Schools in addition to other electrical projects for the government and individuals.

In his forties he opened an electrical shop in the souk (Souk Altijjar); with 13 people working under him. Besides various other undertakings he was an expert in the installation and maintenance of cooling fans, an expertise that brought great relief to the people of Kuwait, esp. during the peak summer season.

His proficiency in English Language was of a great benefit to Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC); electrical projects particularly, since British designed Electrical goods had its specifications written in English. Language knowledge greatly helped him towards the right implementation of those British make goods.

His participation in the historic event of the drilling of the First Oil Well at Albahra in Kuwait was highly admired. His role was to manage & control the supply of electric power, used for drilling, to the foreign technical team. During World War II he rendered his valuable assistance in camouflaging the oil well and other electrical equipments from the vista of Axis Powers.