Location
La Primavera, Municipality San Pedro Jocopilas, Department El Quiche, Guatemala
Community Description
La Primavera is located in the department of El Quiche, Guatemala. The population in 2010 was 3,044 inhabitants.
The center of Primavera consists of a market, a Catholic church, a health post, and the school which is separated into three buildings. Since the main part of the center is the school, it plays a major role in community organization.
Within the school there are a total of 14 teachers, 420 students who attend elementary school in the morning and 74 students who attend middle school in the afternoon.
With over 400 homes within Primavera only 33% have running water. The water committee has been working hard to try to increase this percentage, but has faced difficulties due to the costs involved. Other community organizations include “Parents of the Students”, “Committee of Community Development”, and midwives.
With the help from Water Charity, under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Chelsea Leroux, the school was able to complete the La Primavera Water Project – Guatemala. The rainwater catchment system, incorporating a Rotoplas water tank with a water basin, now provides water for one of the buildings. This project gave the teachers and director of the school motivation to continue improving the water situation in the other buildings.
Project Description
This project is to provide a steady source of water for two buildings at the school. A 10,000 L water tank and an 8 faucet handwashing station will be built.
The tank will be built on top of a one-meter block of stone, so that it sits higher than the two buildings (it already sits at a higher elevation so the extra meter will help with the gravity).
The next step will be to connect this water tank through tubing buried in two trenches that run from the tank to the two buildings
Finally, four ONIL water purification tanks will be installed in order to supply safe drinking water to the students.
The project is being implemented in partnership with Agua Para La Salud, a local NGO that has assisted many communities in Guatemala for almost 2 decades.
The community will dig the two trenches (80 cm in depth) to the two buildings before construction begins. The community will also contribute sand, rock, gravel, wood, and 3 mason helpers each day of construction for five weeks. In addition, the community will provide housing and three meals a day to the mason.
The materials will be bought and transferred from a well-known hardware store in Nebaj, El Quiche and should take three trips.
The construction should take five weeks, with one professional mason who has done this project several times in the past and three mason helpers from the community.
Project Impact
There are 508 beneficiaries of this project, plus parents who utilize the facilities during celebrations and holidays.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Chelsea Leroux
Comments
The ample supply of clean water will improve the health and wellbeing of students and faculty at the school. The handwashing station will be a great resource for the students to start practicing proper hygiene at an early age.
The Water Charity participation in this project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Michael and Carla Boyle, of Nelsonville, OH, USA.
You may continue to contribute using the Donate button below. Any contributions in excess of project amount will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.