Senegal

Community Description
Guia is a town of 6,000 people in the St. Louis region of Northern Senegal. Its only school is the primary school where 400 children attend yearly. The school itself receives water from a nearby forage (hand-powered water pump). Most of the people in Guia are of the Pulaar ethnic group and speak Pulaar du Nord.

The rivers in Northern Senegal carry much schistosomiasis, a parasitic infection that comes from contaminated water. Improperly constructed latrines and a lack of faucets limit the availability of clean-water systems to the primary school students.

Currently at the school there are 4 latrines built. However, 3 of them are stopped up, clogged to the point that they can no longer be used.

Project Description
This project is to reconstruct the three latrines that are non-functional at the school.

Current plumbing will be unplugged and removed in all 4 faulty latrines. The waste pit behind the latrines will also be emptied, enlisting the aid of a hired truck to move the waste.

The plumbing will then be repaired by replacing the old pipes with larger ones and reforming the plumbing architecture to prevent the latrines from re-clogging in the future. Additionally, holes will be added to the waste storage structure behind the latrines, and pipes will be installed for ventilation.

Finally, a sink will be installed next to the 4 latrines, a necessity that the school currently lacks. In addition, minor repairs of the structure will be made.

Project funds will be used for materials, such as cement, sand, gravel, and piping, and for labor and transportation.

The work will be headed up by a local mason who is well known in the community. The school will be involved throughout the project, providing input and overseeing the construction.

The project arose out of the involvement and interest of the community and school. The village chief and the principal of the school made the initial proposal.

The project includes training and follow-up regarding the importance of using latrines rather than going to the bathroom in the river. This educational process will ensure that the new facilities will be properly used.

Project Impact
400 students and 13 teachers will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Paul Levy

Comments
This latrine improvement project will provide enough capacity to meet the sanitation needs of the school and significantly reduce the incidence of disease among the students.

The strong involvement of the community and the school, and the included educational and monitoring component will ensure sustainability.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$0.00

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW

Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you "naming rights", if that is something you would like.

Any contributions in excess of the Dollar Amount of Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.

Dollar Amount Needed
$500.00

Community Description
Thainfara Mawno is a small Pulaar farming community in the south of Senegal about a 2-hour drive from the regional capitol in Kolda. Most families are subsistence farmers who grow corn and millet as their staple crops during the rainy season.

The village, consisting of 275 people, is small but growing. Like many other rural communities in Senegal, families struggle to grow enough to eat and make a little money to save for school fees, medicine, and other basic necessities. The people suffer from a variety of water-related illnesses such as diarrhea, stomach parasites, and malaria.

Pulling water for washing, drinking, and cooking is a daily chore. Although the village has a number of wells, many are in disrepair and unsafe.

None of the wells are covered and they are easily contaminated. Some are in danger of collapsing. Well water is the only source of drinking water for the people of Thainfara Mawno but many of the wells need to be repaired and improved in order to provide clean water.

Project Description
This project will repair and improve ten existing wells in the community by reinforcing their existing structures with cement and rebar and creating cement covers with metal doors.

Project funds will be used to buy cement, rebar, and metal covers, and to pay for the mason.

The community will provide sand and gravel for the cement, food and boarding for the mason, and transportation of materials purchased in the nearest road town.

The project has the support of the Chief of the village, Amadou Gano

Project Impact
Over 200 people will directly benefit from increased access to clean water. An additional 75 people will indirectly benefit from the decrease in communicable diseases.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Heather Van Wie

Comments
The inexpensive repairs and improvements of existing community wells will have a great impact on the wellbeing of the villagers by reducing the incidence of disease.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$0.00

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW

Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you "naming rights", if that is something you would like.

Any contributions in excess of the Dollar Amount of Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.

Dollar Amount Needed
$500.00

Community Description
Mbour is a city in the Thiès Region of Senegal. It lies on the Petite Côte, approximately eighty kilometers south of Dakar.

The community of Louly Ngogom, located 15 km East of Mbour, on the route nationale, is a Serer village of 500 people.

The village does not have electricity or running water. All water is supplied by four communal wells. The water table is about 10 meters deep.

Main income sources are farming, artisanal work, and government positions. Families live in compounds, having up to 40 people in each.

There is a primary school, a church, a health hut, and a kindergarten.

There are four wells currently supplying Louly Ngogom, located in central areas throughout the village. They provide the water for drinking, cooking, and showering. They were all covered with iron well covers in 2006. However, the covers have all rusted through and are disintegrating, thus contaminating the water.

Two of the covers have been removed entirely, exposing the wells to debris (such as waste, dust, and animals).

Project Description
This project will provide proper cement covers on all the wells throughout the village. The new covers will protect the wells from contamination.

Each cover will have a small opening for water-pulling, thereby protecting the well from exposure from debris.

The project is being led by the Water Sanitation Committee, and will be carried out by local stonemasons.

Project Impact
Over 500 communiy members will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Sarah Sprague

Comments
This project will provide safe drinking water for the entire community by properly protecting the wells from contamination. For a small amount of money, the existing resources will be upgraded to ensure that proper hygienic standards are met.

Dollar Amount of Project
$300.00

Donations Collected to Date
$300.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Sarah Sprague of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Sarah and/or those of her counterpart PCVs in Senegal.

Community Description
Patar Lia is a rural community of 371 people, located about 10 kilometers off the Route National near the small town of Gossas. It is made up mostly of subsistence farmers who spend the rainy season growing peanuts and millet in the fields surrounding the village. Many of the Wolofs, Seereres and Pulaars from Patar Lia supplement their income by working in the capital or other urban areas as taxi drivers, housekeepers and construction workers.

Ecole Patar Lia educates 153 students from Patar and the nearby villages of Bannan, Tongol, Fissel I and II and Toune. The eight teachers and school director have identified many issues resulting from the chronic lack of funding, prioritizing improvement of the current health and sanitation standards.

The municipal government constructed two latrines for faculty use in 2007. However, the students are forced to go behind classrooms or to the nearby fields to perform necessary bodily functions. The resulting unsanitary condition of the school grounds puts the health of students, teachers, and their relatives at risk. Serious diseases like cholera and diarrhea affect many community members and can be attributed to poor waste management.

Project Description
This project is to construct six additional latrines next to existing classes within the school compound for use by the student body.

The latrines will be constructed against an existing cement wall in a single block, and feed into a shared septic tank. Heavy-duty cement bricks covered by cement will be used to construct the walls, and corrugated zinc will be used for the doors in each stall and serve as sturdy roofing material. This design maximizes the number of latrines while minimizing both construction time and cost.

Information on the use and importance of latrines will be illustrated using health themed murals, and these lessons integrated into the existing curriculum during the coming school year.

Project funds will be used to cover the costs of materials, supplies and skilled labor for these latrines.

Unskilled labor, eight cubic meters of soil, and hundreds of liters of water will be donated by the community.

The Association des Parents des Eleves (parents of student’s association) will also make a monetary contribution of 25,000 cfa (about $50 USD) to demonstrate their support of the project and the high value they place on the health and safety of their children.

Project Impact
Approximately 160 teachers and students will be directly affected by this latrine project. The improved sanitation and subsequent disease reduction of this project will create an indirect benefit for the 1,500 people in the neighboring villages of Bannan, Tongol, Fissel I and II and Toune.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Stephanie Shumsky

Comments
Latrine construction is a simple way to dramatically improve the health and sanitation standards of the Patar Lia Primary school, something the community itself has identified as a priority.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$500.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Stephanie Shumsky of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Stephanie and/or those of her counterpart PCVs in Senegal.