Zguriţa School Water Filter Project – Moldova

Location
School of Zguriţa, village of Zguriţa, district of Drochia, Republic of Moldova

Community Description
The village of Zguriţa is located in the north of Moldova close to the Ukranian border in the district of Drochia. The village is situated on the main highway between the towns of Drochia and Soroca. There are currently 1,750 people who are registered as residents in the village, but many have left to work abroad to support their families back home. Most of the residents in Zguriţa rely on agricultural for their livelihoods, through employment and subsistence farming. The villagers make an average of $5-$7 a day, so they depend on remittances from family members abroad.

The Zguriţa School, the only school in the community, has 225 students in attendance. The village also has a mayor’s office, a kindergarten, a post office, 4 convenience stores, and a grain mill.

The village lacks infrastructure and many of the buildings are nearly in ruins, but the school has been the focus of several donor projects in the past year. The school now has a new roof, new windows, gas heating, and running water.

Recent tests conducted in Zguriţa revealed that the level of nitrates in the water is 8 times the amount that is considered safe for drinking. Nitrates in water are tasteless and odorless and are very toxic to human health, especially children, since they interfere with the body’s ability to absorb oxygen.

The leading sources of nitrates – inorganic and organic – are chemical fertilizers, human waste, and livestock manure. All of these problems affect the village of Zguriţa, according to the local administration, and are due to decades of poor farming practices, poorly constructed latrines, and livestock grazing in public areas.

Project Description
This project is to purchase and install an industrial water filter at the school.

The filter will be installed into the supply line for two main pipes at the school to bring water to the kitchen and a community sink that students use for drinking and handwashing.

The industrial-sized water filter works with a reverse osmosis system with four levels of purification, and can handle a capacity of 250 liters of water per day. The purification grade of the filter is rated at 96%-99%, which eliminates almost all harmful toxins in the water.

The work will be performed under the direction of the NGO “Fortuna”, with the full participation of the Mayor’s Office of Zguriţa.

Extra filter cartridges for the next three years will be purchased and stored at the mayor’s office, which will be responsible for replacing the filters every six months.

Project Impact
This project will benefit 225 students and 25 teachers. Guests attending school celebrations will also benefit.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Vince Lambert

Comments
This project will bring safe and clean drinking water to all of the students and teachers at the school in Zguriţa. It will greatly reduce the incidence of illness caused by the existing contaminated water supply.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$500.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of The Soneva SLOW LIFE Trust as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Vince Lambert of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Vince and/or those other PCVs in the country of service.




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