Kanorejo SDN 01 Bathroom Project – Indonesia

Location
Kanorejo village, Rengel subdistrict, Tuban district, East Java province, Indonesia

Community Description
Kanorejo is a small village located on the banks of the longest river in Java, the Solo River.

Most of the villagers are farmers. Many do not own their own fields and must work as day laborers for others. The average pay per day for day laborers is Indonesia Rupiah 25,000, or less than $3.00 a day.

Many people do not have access to good sanitation and use the river and the small streams leading to the river for open defecation. There is a widespread tolerance of this practice because many people do not understand the relationship of such practices with the transmission of many diseases, particularly typhus and diarrhea.

There are two primary schools serving the children of Kanorejo. Schooling is “free” except that parents must purchase school uniforms and workbooks.

Kanorejo SDN 01 is a public grade school serving children from Grade 1 through Grade 6.

Problem Addressed
Although the schools are supposed to be teaching good hygiene, Kanorejo SDN 01 cannot really support the practice because the latrines for the students have been inoperable for several years. The growth of large tree roots under the structure caused the tank holding water to crack and the structure to be unsafe and unusable.

The students urinate in the bushes behind the school. If they need to defecate during school hours, most children go home to do their business and seldom return to school that day. If no body of water is nearby, the stool is put in a plastic bag and tossed into a garbage area behind the house.

The importance of proper hygiene and handwashing is hard to teach when it is not being practiced at school, and so there is very little to no instruction regarding this topic. The teachers and principal are frustrated because the government does not allocate funds for restrooms, and no one else seems to be willing to raise the money to build a new toilet facility for the students.

Project Description
This project is to build a new bathroom at Kanorejo SDN 01.

The damaged structure will be demolished and replaced with a new building. There will be one bathroom for girls and one for boys.

Each bathroom will consist of a bak mandi, which is a cistern that holds water for washing and flushing, and a high-quality ceramic squat toilet.

There will be a roof and doors for each bathroom. There will be a new septic tank installed. The water source is already there and so will be tapped using new piping.

The work will be done by laborers and a skilled mason.

Water Charity funds will be used to purchase the materials, including piping, fittings, fixtures, cement, wood, and metal sheets.

The school community, consisting of the principal, the School Committee of parents and village representatives, and the teachers, will oversee the project, raise additional funds if needed, and also take responsibility for creating and managing the cleaning and maintenance of the bathrooms, with help from the students and the school’s janitor. Soap will be provided by the school.

Grade-appropriate lessons about good sanitation and the importance of clean water and hand washing will be developed to tie in with the opening of the new facility. Parents will also be invited to participate in the “opening” and another message about good sanitation will be delivered. A poster contest for the students will be held on the subject of “good sanitation practices” and the work of the finalists will be displayed.

Project Impact
109 people, consisting of 91 students at, 10 teachers, 1 principal, and the School Committee of 7 people will benefit from the project. All of the parents and family members will also be affected.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Mary O’Hara

Comments
This is an important infrastructure project that will improve the health and well-being of the students, staff, and community at large.

Mary previously completed the Kanorejo Public Sanitation Facility Project – Indonesia.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Donations Collected to Date
$0.00

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE PROJECT.

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
$555.00

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.