With this project, Water Charity is extending our mission into an extremely vital area, the improvement of the home in order to impact on public health problems affecting the wellbeing of the community.
In the past, we have focused on providing safe water and effective sanitation for those in need. “Sanitation” has mostly been limited to toilets, latrines, and drainage. In this project, we address the third part of our mission, the provision of public health resources to improve sanitation and hygiene.
This project is to construct 64 concrete floors in homes that presently have only dirt floors. The concrete will be mixed on site and poured and finished to a thickness of 6 centimeters.
The project will be implemented in the community of El Jícaro, Comitancillo, located in the department of San Marcos, Guatemala.
The objective of the project is to decrease the transmission rate of preventable infectious diseases (especially respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases) among rural families by improving sanitary conditions and hygiene within the home, resulting in healthier, more productive families.
The project has been planned by the community leaders and health promoters, together with other community members, who have been participating in monthly preventive health education activities since June 2010. The project grew out of an evaluation of the needs, which resulted in a determination that this project will address a problem of critical importance to the community.
The project is being implemented by Peace Corps Volunteer Lauren Truxillo. Lauren has been on site since July 2009, working in coordination with the local Health Center to train health promoters in preventive health.
As a Healthy Homes Peace Corps Volunteer, Lauren trains community health promoters and community leaders about preventive health education, and monitors the health promotion activities they carry out within their community. She trains them in organizational and project design skills so that they may develop the capacity to continue planning successful community projects in the future.
The community has undertaken the responsibility to carry out the project in its entirety, from planning and monitoring the project to managing funds and distributing materials. Additionally, they will contribute 100% of the labor expenses, which is 38% of the total project cost.
Project funds will be used to buy the materials, including cement, gravel, and sand necessary for the construction of the floors. (It is to be noted that the small stream that runs through the community is not a sufficient source of sand for the project.)
The project will directly benefit the 451 people who live in the homes, including the 74 women and 6 men who participate in the trainings.
This project has now been fully funded, through the generosity of friends and family of Peace Corps Volunteer Lauren Truxillo.
We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Lauren of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Lauren and/or those of other PCVs in the country.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.