This project is made possible through the partnership of Water Charity and the National Peace Corps Association. 
This is a project under the LET GIRLS LEARN Program, a collaboration of First Lady Michelle Obama and the Peace Corps to expand access to education for adolescent girls around the world!
Location
Khnach Romeas Village, Khnach Romeas Commune, Bavel District, Battambang Province, Cambodia
Community Description
The Khnach Romeas Secondary School is located in a farming village and is the only secondary school in the commune.
Problem Addressed
The Khnach Romeas Secondary School has no dependable water source for basic sanitation needs. The latrines that exist are broken, and insufficient for the number of students.
Latrine construction has promising gains to deliver in terms of increased access to education for girls. Furthermore, hand washing facilities as a complementary measure to latrine construction mitigates the risk of contamination. Lack of potable water and sanitation is one of the biggest issues affecting the health of children across Cambodia, particularly those who live in the countryside, and schools are a focal point for the spread of disease.
Project Description
Water Charity will help the Khnach Romeas Secondary School to achieve a reliable water supply, for purposes of sanitation and hygiene. This will include a well, the repair of two existing latrines, the construction of two new latrines, a handwashing station, and a water storage container. The goal is to help the teachers and students, particularly female students, of the Khnach Romeas Secondary School gain access to water and sanitation in order to achieve safe, clean latrines, and water for handwashing.
An anonymous survey concerning the views students hold of the school latrines will be distributed to the entire school population before and after the construction and repair of school latrines. The data collected from the surveys will be compared and analyzed.
In addition, four secondary school teachers will conduct a 20-minute session on education and demonstration of proper handwashing techniques and behaviors for the entire school following the morning flag ceremony, educating all 659 students. A holistic approach that combines the promotion of behavior change and the provision of facilities will lead to a sustainable outcome for the secondary school.
Project Details
1) Local workers will construct a well in front of the secondary school.
(a) A hole will be dug 50 meters deep and 40 centimeters in diameter.
(b) A motor will be used to pump water out of the well.
2. Local workers will situate one 3000-liter water storage container on top of a 3-meter tall stand made of steel.
(a) Rainwater collection jars have been an inefficient method to store water for the primary school. Four of the seven rainwater collection jars owned by the school have cracked due to the lack of water being stored inside the jars.
(b) A water storage container will be a safe and reliable means of storing water.
(c) The school owns another structure for water storage. However, the roof has been destroyed by fruit falling from the nearby palm fruit tree. The school will pay for a new roof for the structure and to trim the tree to prevent any future damage. The existing structure will be another means of water storage from the well.
3. Local workers will build a 3-meter by 4-meter handwashing station next to the latrines of the secondary school.
(a) Four secondary school teachers will conduct an educational demonstration to promote proper handwashing techniques and behaviors for the entire school, educating all 659 students.
(b) The secondary school will provide bars of soap to the handwashing station at all times and will maintain the handwashing station to ensure working order.
(c) The handwashing station will be next to a palm fruit tree and, as stated earlier, the school will pay for the tree to be trimmed to prevent damage of the handwashing station.
4. Local workers will construct two new latrines and will repair the existing two malfunctioning latrines.
(a) The school will maintain the latrines to ensure working order, which will become far more manageable with a dependable water source.
(b) At least six latrines are needed for the use of a school of over 600 students.
5. An anonymous survey was distributed to all students before and after the construction and repair of latrines.
(a) One month following the repair and construction of the latrines, a follow-up survey will be distributed to all students.
(b) Data will only be obtained from the surveys completed by female students.
(c) The female student population data collected from the surveys distributed before and after the repair and construction of the latrines will be compared and analyzed.
Project Impact
659 students, 35 teachers, and all the other people who visit the school.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Evalynn Romano
Monitoring and Maintenance
The secondary school will repair the motor if it is to malfunction in the future, and will pay the monthly electricity costs from motor use.
Comments
This project is part of the LET GIRLS LEARN program sponsored by FLOTUS Michelle Obama, as well as Water Charity’s Let Girls Learn Initiative – Worldwide. It is intended to have a positive effect on keeping girls in school after they reach adolescence. Lack of clean facilities is a leading cause of women dropping out of school.
Water Charity is proud to have sponsored the very first LGL project, and continues to be a leading contributor to the program, as evidenced by projects like this one.
Evalynn has recently completed another project for Water Charity in her service in Cambodia. Click the link to read about the Kors Ream Primary School Well and Water System Project and its CONCLUSION.
Fundraising Goal
$5,700
Donations Collected to Date
$0
Dollar Amount Needed
$5,700
This project has been completed. However, donations are still being accepted. To read about the conclusion, CLICK HERE.
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