This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Mary O’Hara.
To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.
The project was to build a new bathroom at Kanorejo SDN 01.
Mary reports:
The student bathroom at the primary school SD2 in the village of Kanorejo was not usable
because of major cracks in the poor foundation which caused cracks in the mandi (tub for holding water) which led to leaking. In addition, during the dry season, the water table is so lowered that the school pump does not go deep enough to find water, and so no one at the school has access to water.
The school had enough funds to drill for a new well, but not enough to rebuild the bathroom. The grant from Water Charity was used to rebuild and improve the bathroom.
The area around the bathroom was plagued by major roots which had cracked the foundation in the first place. The area was dug up and the roots were removed or trimmed. Then the foundation was strengthened and a raised porch area and raised sidewalk leading from the classrooms to the bathroom were built. During rainy season, the area surrounding the bathroom is flooded and muddy and the raised sidewalk provides better access.
The roof was removed and the interior and exterior walls repaired, re plastered and painted. A new mandi was built and tiled and a new squat toilet was purchased and set in a fresh and level platform. A new roof with a generous overhang to protect from rain and sun was built. The floor of the bathroom and the raised porch were tiled with ceramic tile which helps in keeping the bathroom area clean. The original bathroom had only cement floors which were difficult to clean.
The work was done by a skilled mason and his helper who were paid from the Water Charity funds.
The children, the teachers, and the community are grateful for their new student bathroom and send their thanks to you. In April, the school hopes to complete the new well so that next dry season the students and teachers of SD2 will have water throughout the entire year.
Rainy season brings many hardships to the people of Kanorejo. Sometimes their rice crops are flooded at the wrong time and die. Sometimes their houses are flooded and they must sleep on their tables. Sometimes the river rises so high that not only the fields and houses are flooded but the roads are 6 feet under water too and everyone must enter and leave the village by rafts. But this rainy season, the students of SD2 have access to a new, clean bathroom thanks to the generosity of Water Charity.
We are grateful to Mary for seeing this important project through to completion.