Gorky Library Sanitation Project – Ukraine

Location
Melitopol, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine

Community Description
Melitopol is a city of about 160,000 people located in Southeastern Ukraine.

During the era of the Soviet Union, the city had a robust economy defined by a booming engineering and automobile industry. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the city has fallen on hard times and is trying to rebuild its industrial sector and find its place in a new competitive global economy.

One of the areas of greatest concern for the city is water sanitation. Much of the infrastructure of the city is degraded, in disrepair, or falling apart. This includes the bathrooms of most public buildings.

Gorky Library is a prominent place for community gatherings. It is the most visited library, aside from the Central Library located in the city center. Being located in the Micro Rayon District, which is the major commercial center of the city, many residents will go shopping in the bazaar, or to a variety of other local shops, and then drop by the library to read a book, access the Internet, complete schoolwork, or learn English.

The library hosts a Bill and Melinda Gates-funded computer center, an advanced-learners English club, and has a sizable collection of books for the public to access. Libraries are one of the few free services offered by the city to residents and one of the few places that people of all ages attend, making them a binding, cohesive, cultural force in the community.

Unfortunately, the bathroom at Gorky Library is barely functional. The toilet often gets clogged up. One of the two toilets doesn’t work at all. Many of the pipes are rusted and leaking, and the sink doesn’t work properly.

The water that does go through the sink leaks onto the floor because the siphon is broken. The sewer pipe leading out of the building is broken and leaves unsanitary water on the sidewalk outside of the building.

Residents using the bathroom at the library have no way of washing their hands. They then go about reading books, touching the computers, and sitting at desks. Some guests have reported getting a stomach ache after visiting the library. It is well known in the community that the library has poor bathroom services and people are deterred from going to the library because of the poor sanitary situation.

Project Description
This project is to provide for needed sanitation facilities at the library.

Two new sitting toilets with two new cisterns, plus a sink and a siphon, will be purchased and installed. The broken sewer pipe will be removed, and a new plastic sewer pipe of 2 meters will be installed. The leaking, rusted, cold water supply pipe will be removed and replaced with a new plastic cold water supply pipe of 3 meters.

The Melitopol City Library Network will lead the project and will partner with the charitable foundation Ridne Misto Melitopol and the Melitopol City Council. Ridne Misto will provide volunteers with plumbing experience from their organization.

The Melitopol City Council will be responsible for the maintenance of the new bathroom facilities and will periodically provide water experts to ensure the toilets, sink and pipes are functioning properly.

The first stage of the project will be to purchase the items that are going to be installed. The next step entails removing the two toilets and cisterns, the sink and siphon, and the sewer and cold water supply pipes. The next stage involves the installation of the two new pipes.

Following the installation of the new pipes the toilets, cisterns, and sink will all be installed.

Project funds will be used to purchase two new sitting toilets, two cisterns, the sink, the sink’s siphon, a 2-meter plastic sewer pipe, and a 3-meter cold water supply pipe.

There will be no need to pay for a plumber because the NGO Ridne Misto is providing 3 volunteers with extensive plumbing experience free of charge.

Project Impact
The project will benefit approximately 1,200 distinct visitors per month.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Logan Brennan

Comments
This project will improve the sanitation of this major public facility, greatly impacting on the health and well-being of the members of the community.

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.