Location
Chala Village, Sackhere District, Imereti Region, Republic of Georgia
Community Description
Located in the region of Imereti, the village of Chala is a quaint farming village with a population of around 1,000 people. The village is about 178 km from Tbilisi and 10 km from Perevi. Perevi is the bordering village to the Administrative Boundary Line with South Ossetia.
Chala’s Public School is located in the center of the village and has students from surrounding villages attending (Speti, Darka, Jria, and Orguli). The school serves about 280 students, grades 1-12.
Although the school was renovated in 2006, it is in need of maintenance and repair. The school has modern technologies and infrastructure (i.e. computers, a projector, electricity, chalk, blackboards, a library and the overall quality of the building’s structure) to provide education to their students. However, the school is lacking basic sanitation in the schoolyard.
Problem Addressed 
An open outdoor faucet exists that is used not only by the school children, but also by the staff (to wash their hands, to drink, and to clean their blackboard erasers) and the local shop owners (to wash their hands, drink, and wash their dishes). In addition, local villagers’ animals wander into the school enclosure and drink from the puddle left by the faucet usage, and even directly from the facet.
Water that comes down from the mountains is stored in a tank and is readily available. However, the area around the faucet is unsanitary and hazardous to the well-being of the community. The leaky open faucet creates large puddles and a muddy schoolyard. Water freely flows out of the schoolyard and pollutes the village center.
Project Description
This project is to provide for a comprehensive sanitary faucet system at the school.
The system will include a leach field that will help remove standing water from the schoolyard.
The work will include the following:
- Change the pipes in the existing faucet system in the schoolyard
- Move the faucet to a better-suited area of the yard
- Create an underground run-off system to ensure no flooding
- Create a sturdier faucet structure that keeps animals away from the tap
A local handyman, two teachers, and their students will be responsible for repairs, with daily oversight by the involved teachers and the PCV.
Water Charity funds will be used to purchase the materials, including piping, fittings, fixtures, and cement, and to pay for skilled labor as needed.
In the future, the school will create a new square around the water facet in order to create a cleaner and more aesthetic environment. This will include better ways to keep out the animals.
Project Impact
600 people will benefit from the project, including students, staff, shopkeepers, and members of the community.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Nicole Kennedy
Comments
This is an important project that will improve the health and well-being of the people who go to the school each day and members of the surrounding community.
Dollar Amount of Project
$300.00
Donations Collected to Date
$140.00
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 the Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.
Dollar Amount Needed
$160.00
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.