Under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Carroll Wallace, this project is to build 15 modern bathrooms in Barrero Pyta, Paraguay.
Barrero Pyta sits on the sides of Ruta 8 in the South of the Department of San Pedro in Paraguay. There are about 150 houses and a high population of youth under the age of 26.
The people received both running water and electricity within the last 15 years. The majority makes their living in agriculture, small business, and teaching. There is a high school, an elementary school, two local radio stations and a soccer field.
In Paraguay, waste management and sanitation are dire issues, especially in rural areas. In some places there are no means of waste management. More often, people use poorly constructed latrines nearly full with waste, and lack the education to practice sanitary habits and the money to properly maintain their latrines.
The Sanitary Bathroom Commission began in March 2009 with over sixty members. Presently, the group has only fifteen members. These women continue to believe their project will come to fruition, and patiently work toward the construction of a modern bathroom in each of their homes.
Currently, the commission sells food, fabric softener, and detergent and hosts movie nights for the community in order to raise funds. Additionally, each woman pays a monthly fee to maintain her commission membership.
The construction of modern bathrooms and the implementation of health lessons will prevent the spread of diarrhea, a leading cause of death among children around the world, lessen the presence of intestinal parasites, and ensure increased sanitary control of human waste.
The community members will contribute to the cost of the project by providing their own transportations of materials, the cost of manual labor, and the assistance of at least one person in each family to aid the construction worker with the completion of the bathroom. Lastly, each family will be responsible for purchasing and preparing the food for those doing the manual labor.
The project will benefit about 75 people, consisting of the participating women and their families.
To see a video of Carroll’s work on latrines in the community, CLICK HERE.
$0.00 – The Water Charity portion of this project has now 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 Carroll of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by the PCV and/or other projects in the country of service.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.