Location
Rezina, Moldova
Community Description
The town of Rezina, with a population of about 13,000, is located next to the beautiful river Nistru in the Northeast of Moldova.
Despite the beautiful landscape, the community has been hard hit by economic woes. A lack of jobs has left many children in the care of grandparents or other family members, as parents are forced to move abroad in order to provide for their families.
Though Rezina can boast many businesses that line its streets, including the largest cement factory in Eastern Europe, many external factors, including the poor state of the road from the capitol city of Chisinau to Rezina, have impeded business growth.
In spite of these hardships, the people of Rezina are a positive, hardworking community, proud of their town and its history. They are looking toward a brighter future that lies in the hands of Rezina’s children and its schools.
Liceul Teoretic Stefan Cel Mare is just one of the four schools in Rezina. Two Romanian language schools, one Russian language school and one boarding school for students with learning disabilities, provide education to both the students of the town as well as the many surrounding villages.
The Stefan Cel Mare School has served the community for over 12 years. Its bright students with Romanian as their mother tongue take foreign language lessons in French, English and Russian along with the ten other subjects covering everything from physics to geometry and physical education.
The building which holds the school was built in 1950 as a dormitory for students of the boarding school. It is now the largest school in Rezina with the smallest building space, serving nearly 700 students, 45 teachers and 30 staff members.
There is a small medical office in which the school’s nurses provide low-cost medical services to as many as 200 members of the community every month.
There are currently two bathrooms, installed when the building was first constructed, available as a facility for the almost 1,000 people who enter the building every month. One bathroom, for girls, is located on the second floor, while the other bathroom, for boys, is located on the first floor.
The bathrooms are in a constant state of disrepair and do not provide adequate privacy for its users. There are no other bathroom facilities in the immediate area. Many times users refuse to use these bathrooms as they are unsanitary and unsafe for students and teachers.
The fresh and waste water systems that serve the four bathroom stalls are in need of repair. Also, users do not have adequate facilities to wash their hands after using the bathroom or before eating.
Project Description
This project is to renovate and upgrade the two bathrooms at the Stefan Cel Mare School.
The specific work to be done includes the following:
- Take out the existing 2 sinks in the boy’s bathroom as well as the eroding pipes that connect it to the central waterway.
- Remove the existing sink in the girl’s bathroom as well as the pipe that connects it to the central water system.
- Remove the existing tile on the floors of the boys’ and girls’ bathrooms.
- Purchase 4 sinks with attached faucets, 4 soap dispensers, 10 meters of standard PCP piping (with needed shutoff valves, drain extensions, drains, traps and clean-out plugs), tiling, and 2 hand dryers from Rezina’s main construction store.
- Install the new tiling in the floor of the girls’ and boys’ bathrooms.
- Install 1 sink in the existing space and the new pipes in the girls’ bathroom on the second floor of the school.
- Construct space for a second sink in the girl’s bathroom as well as the piping that will connect it to the central water line. Install the second sink in this new spot.
- Install 2 sinks in the already existing spaces and the new piping in the boys’ bathroom on the first floor.
- Install soap dispensers (two for each bathroom) and hand dryers (one for each bathroom) in the walls of the girls’ and boys’ bathrooms.
An engineer working with the local mayor’s office will help with the construction and installation on a voluntary basis, as his wife is the school librarian.
After construction, the school nurses and other volunteers within the school will administer health seminars to all students, advising on more acceptable ways of keeping a healthy and clean school.
Project Impact
This project will benefit 700 students, 45 teachers, and 30 staff members, in addition to 200 visitors who come to use the medical facility every month.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Katie Hiebert
Comments
This is a high-impact project that will create more sanitary conditions for the many users of Rezina’s Liceul Teoretic Stefan Cel Mare.
Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00
Donations Collected to Date
$555.00 + additional amounts
Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project has been fully funded through the generosity of Kate Hiebert, of Chappaqua, NY, together with the help of other friends and family of Peace Corps Volunteer Katie Hiebert. In addition, extra funds have been received for future projects.
We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Katie of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Katie and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.