This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Rebecca Verlaque. To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.
The project was to provide running water for the school bathrooms, and to construct a new faculty bathroom.
Rebecca reports:
Project Phases
The project was initiated by two school staff members, who took on the key advisory roles. We met with local masons and plumbers to develop a materials list, a budget, and a sold community contribution. Prices were checked with the nearest hardware store, and the application was written.When the project was funded, I notified all local partners that we were ready to begin. The school staff and students organized a work day to clean the restrooms to a level sufficient for building to begin.
In early April, I accompanied a staff member to our nearest road town to purchase plumbing, construction, and cleaning materials. There was a slight delay in beginning construction due to a religious celebration in our town, but by the third week of April, the mason and plumber had dug all necessary trenches, installed piping and faucets, and were ready to connect the bathrooms to the water main.
Once this work was completed, the students scrubbed, bleached and scoured every inch of the bathrooms, and the mason installed new latching doors in the toilet entrances. At the end of the month, the school restroom was ready to use!
Final Result
Our school now has 9 bathroom stalls, each with a faucet connected to running water for flushing, hand washing and cleaning for the first time in years. There is a new staff bathroom, made by refurbishing an existing outbuilding. All stalls have been clearly marked for male and female students. The bathrooms can be locked after school hours to prevent damage or improper use.Each classroom has a plastic toilet kettle and supply of soap to use as needed, and to be replaced by the school fund and parents association when necessary. Each class has also been assigned a week to clean the toilets on a rotating basis.
Throughout the whole process the health workers of Khogue and I have been giving hand washing education talks to foster proper use and hygiene. It’s our hope that diarrhea rates in our village will drop in the second half of this year because of this new resource!
We are grateful to Rebecca for completing this excellent infrastructure project.
