This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Lacey Shoemaker. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.
The project was to renovate the outdoor restrooms at the school.
Lacey reports:
Scope of the Project:
For this project, there were three main areas of concentration. The first was the functioning of the bathrooms themselves. Some of the doors needed to be replaced. The basins used to hold the water within the bathrooms were old, worn-out, and/or leaked profusely.The second was related to hygiene and cleanliness of the bathroom. Cleaners, brushes and other materials were scarcely used and not readily on hand.
The third was teaching the teachers and students about sustaining and caring for the facility as well as their general health. Students didn’t take care of the facility or take proper precautions towards good hygiene, such as washing their hands after using the restroom. The teachers needed to talk to the students about personal responsibility of the school and also in regards to their health.
How the work progressed:
Before we began, we held a meeting with the teachers to determine the need, and what they saw to be an issue with the facility. For instance, the boys’ urinal trough was starting to break down due to the effects of the elements and vandalism. When we were done with the list, we then grouped the problem into three categories: Function, Health, and Aesthetics.There were a number of issues that fell into two or all of the categories, so we then ranked those in an order from “most important” to “least important.” Once that was done, we were able to determine how many areas on the list we thought we could complete within our budget.
End Result:
The school decided to demolish the boys’ old urinal trough for health and safety reasons and they created three new restrooms for the students. The doors were replaced on all the existing restrooms and were equipped with locks to deter vandalism after school hours. The roof tiles were replaced in the areas where it was needed.
The water basins inside were fixed or replaced, and the piping was inspected and replaced with PCV piping if the metal had deteriorated. All the cement septic tank covers were either broken or nonexistent. so those were replaced as well.
After the initial construction, the school held a small assembly to explain to the students the importance of keeping the restrooms clean and tidy. The restrooms now have cleaning supplies, such as toilet brush and bowl cleaner, for the students to use in order to clean after themselves independently. The school also had a volunteer from the local
health station come speak to the students about germs and proper hygiene techniques.
We are grateful to Lacey for completing this project. We are still seeking donations to reimburse us for the amount we advanced, so that we will have funds for future projects.