Underway

Community Description
Within the district Muak Lek, this village is one of 18 in the largest of the sub-districts within Thailand's central province of Saraburi. The area is mountainous and cooler than the rest of the central provinces.

Residents of this sub-district raise dairy cows, and grow sugarcane, corn, and cassava. Although some villages are more affluent than others, there are low- income households within each village.

There are 8 primary schools within the sub-district (at village 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and 9). The one at Village 1 Ban Sub Noi serves students from several nearby villages.

Although Village 1 Ban Sub Noi is one of the more affluent villages of the sub-district, the restrooms of its primary school are not hygienic. Squat toilets are old, discolored, and cracking. The walls are tainted with mildew. Sinks are in the same condition, with several broken faucets and an inadequate water supply.

Project Description
The project is to renovate the restrooms of the Primary School of Village 1 Ban Sub Noi.

Project Impact
This project will benefit the 283 students at the school. In addition, the entire community will benefit, as the school is the site of numerous sporting events and other communal activities.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
T.D. Nguyen

Comments
This project stands to be a model for other schools to follow, as it is the first of its type within the sub-district. The improved sanitary conditions will have an immediate positive effect on the health and wellbeing of the students.

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 T.D. Nguyen of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by T.D. and/or those of his counterpart PCVs in Thailand.

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.

Community Description
San Francisco La Unión is a municipality of 7,286 inhabitants located just north of Olintepeque in the department of Quetzaltenango in the Western Highlands. The community is largely made up of indigenous Guatemalans and K’iche’ is commonly spoken, although nearly everyone also speaks Spanish.

The community is in the mountains at an altitude of 2,770 meters, so the climate is fairly cold throughout the year. The community has not had sufficient resources to provide water at all times to its citizens, and water is available in homes and schools only infrequently.

The Escuela Oficial Urbana Mixta Justo Rufino Barrios is located in the center of town and serves the entire community.

There is a critical water problem at the school, as water only runs one day every week or two. Thus there is a need for a water storage capability to serve the needs of the school.

In addition, the school does not have facilities to allow the students to practice proper hygiene.

Project Description
This project is to build a cistern at the school for water storage, and a handwashing station for use of the students.

The underground cistern will be 2 meters wide by 3 meters long by 2 meters tall. It will provide water to the already existing bathrooms and the new handwashing station.

The handwashing station will be built with ten faucets for students to use in the practice of healthy habits (washing hands and brushing teeth).

The director planned the entire project himself, meeting with construction workers, the mayor and the parents of students.

The mayor has already paid for all of the supplies, and the parents of students are paying half of the labor costs. Project funds will be used to pay the remaining labor costs.

Project Impact
The project will directly affect the 292 students and the 16 teachers of the school. The families of the students will be indirectly affected due to better hygiene practices of the students in the school.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Christine Dutko

Comments
This is a model project, in that it was designed and developed locally, has widespread community and governmental support, and the majority of the resources have already been gathered. These factors make it easy for us to provide the remainder, so that the project can be implemented at once.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$275.00

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
$225.00

Community Description
The people of Paraxaj (pronounced “Para-shock”) live without water in one-room abodes with dirt floors, made of scrap metal. They cook over open fires inside the home. They have no toilets, no showers, and no viable means to change their circumstances.

There are approximately 500 families that live in the community. The people speak the Mayan language Kaqchikel.

Defecation takes place in the open or in the nearby river. This causes many related health problems.

Project Description
This project is to build 25 latrines in the community.

Materials, instruction, and technical support will be provided to each family. Under the supervision of an experienced local mason, each family will proceed to construct its own latrine.

Each of the 25 families has participated in a program whereby they have been taught a range of health-related topics spanning from the different ways to purify water to the importance of keeping the environment clean. The use, construction, and maintenance of latrines are subjects that have also been taught.

The Asociacion Civil para el Desarrollo Integral de Guatemala is an integral part of the project. The group will act to ensure the continued use of the latrines.

Project Impact
144 people will directly benefit from the project

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Ryan Walsh

Comments
This project creates sustainable results because it was originated by the community and is being carried out by the participants. It incorporates the necessary training regarding the public health aspects of using the latrines, in addition to the skills needed to construct and maintain them.

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 Ryan Walsh of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Ryan and/or those of his counterpart PCVs in Guatemala.