Conclusion of Santa Rosa de Cucunati Latrine Project – Panama

This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Shayla Smith.

To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.

We are happy to report that this project has been successfully completed and fully funded.  Water Charity would like to thank Shayla for her hard work and perseverance in this worthy endeavor.

Project Goals:

The goal of this project was to provide more latrines in the community of Santa Rosa.  When I first arrived in August 2013, there were no composting latrines being used.  At the close of the project there are now 8 composting latrines in the community of Santa Rosa.   Households who participated in the project had to attend a health seminar as well as a latrine maintenance workshop to qualify for the project. In the health seminar, community members learned about hand washing and disease prevention, and water treatment and storage.  The latrine maintenance seminar included information on how to extract the compost after a year and the types of plants and trees it can be used to fertilize.   While the target group was Santa Rosa, the seminars and some work days were also attended by people from neighboring communities. 

Difficulties: 

​The major difficulty we experienced occurred between October and December during the height of the rainy season.  The materials took longer to be delivered than expected because of road conditions. It also required a different type of vehicle to deliver materials which required more trips to my community. 

Project Sustainability:

I have been in the process of creating a health committee.  The president of the committee is one of the first adopters of the composting latrine and understands how it works. He will be able to continue monitoring the project after I leave. 

Unexpected Occurrences:

There were a couple of older couples who lived alone and only have family in Panama City.  They did not have anyone in the community who would gather sand and rock without payment.  To alleviate the cost for them, I purchased sand and rock for these two families so they would still be able to benefit from the project. 

Community Quotes:

Community Leader: “I am really happy to have Peace Corps here to help us realize our sanitation goals.”

Health Committee President: “We have been waiting for a long time to have a latrine project come to Santa Rosa. I am happy I don´t have to worry about it anymore.”

Project Expenses for Water Charity:

We would like to thank Shayla once again for executing such a fine project.  And, we would also like to thank the generosity of our donor Wilco Krul, of Einhoven, Netherlands, who fully funded this project.