Neareay Health Center Latrine Project – Cambodia

Location
Neareay, Chhouk District, Kampot Province, Cambodia

Community Description
Chhouk District is the second-largest district in the southern province of Kampot. Chhouk was one of the strongholds during the Khmer Rouge regime and was one of the last areas to be liberated from Khmer Rouge control when the Cambodian Civil War ended in 1998.

Neareay is located in the Eastern half of Chhouk District, 52 kilometers from Kampot town on recently completed National Highway 3, and 138 km from Phnom Penh. The new road has increased mobility among the population but there are still many families who have never left the district.

The Neareay Health Center is a brand new facility, opening in April 2013. Upon its grand opening, it will serve 4 immediate villages within the district and approximately 8,000 people. The farthest distance villagers will travel to use the facility will be no more than 5 kilometers. However, Health Center Chief Im Mao anticipates that some of the population from the neighboring district of Chumkiri will use Neareay facility.

The health center is at the center of Neareay, located next to the secondary school and pagoda. The center will have a staff of 8-10 people, including 2 midwives and 4 nurses. The secondary school has 259 students and 17 teachers. The Neareay pagoda has 12 monks living in the monastery.

The new facility was built with only one latrine inside the building designated for the use of health center staff.

Project Description
The project is to build a latrine to be used by the patients at Neareay Health Center.

The latrine will include two compartments, each containing a squat toilet and space for bathing.

The latrine for patients will be located approximately 10 meters behind the building next to the pump well as a stand-alone building. The latrine building will be constructed of bricks covered with stucco, with zinc roof.

The toilets will be of the ventilated concrete vault type that is used throughout rural Cambodia. The inside of the latrine will be laid with ceramic tiles.

A pump and PVC piping will move water from existing water tanks behind the health center to the latrine. A small bucket in the restroom can be filled with water as needed from the cistern within the latrine. The water will be used by patients to bathe, hand flush the toilet, and wash their hands.

Unskilled labor, such as digging the pits for the latrines, will be completed by health center staff and members of the community. Construction of the latrine building and plumbing will be completed by local skilled construction workers.

Water Charity funds will be used to pay the skilled workers, and to purchase the building materials, which will include bricks, cement, zinc roofing, doors, ceramic tiles, wooden beams, toilet basin, round concrete sewage tanks, pipes, and drains. All materials will be purchased locally and no more than 8 kilometers from the health center.

Project Impact
8,000 people from 4 immediate villages will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Laura Olson

Comments
This is an essential project for the health center, as it is necessary to accommodate the expected patient load. In providing sanitation facilities to patients, it will immediately improve the health and well-being of all who work at and are seen at the center.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Donations Collected to Date
$0.00

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
$555.00

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