This project is made possible through the partnership of WATER CHARITY and the NATIONAL PEACE CORPS ASSOCIATION. 
Location
This project summary has been redacted for security reasons to omit the specific project location.
Txxxxxxx, Department of Linguere, Region of Louga, Senegal
Community Description
Txxxxxxx is a small, rural village located 35 kilometers southwest of the departmental capital, Linguere, in the region of Louga. Of its 1,500 inhabitants, 90% are Pulaar and 10% are Wolof. Though the village is predominantly Pulaar, the Wolof are the region’s majority ethnic group.
Txxxxxxx is the center of the rural commune, boasting a Health Post as well as one of only two middle schools in the commune. Students whose homes are distant from the village center walk and drive horse- or donkey-drawn carts several kilometers to attend school in the village each morning.
Individuals within the community of Txxxxxxx typically generate income through animal husbandry, herding cows, sheep, and goats.
Problem Addressed
The middle school has been borrowing a private space from the mayor’s office since its inception. This year, the mayor is evicting the middle school so that the preschool, which has been located in the mayor’s office in the meantime, may utilize the space.
Two new classrooms have been constructed, but at a distance quite far (over 1 kilometer) from the village center, posing a challenge to all students but especially those that live outside of the village proper and commute many kilometers each day.
There is no electricity, running water, or latrine access at this new site. Students therefore have reported that they wait until school gets out to relieve themselves. This relocation to a more remote schoolhouse puts attendance of all students, but especially female students, at risk.
Maintaining proper menstrual health and hygiene is not possible without access to running water, toilets, or privacy. This population of rural, Pulaar girls is already vulnerable to social and cultural forces that keep female students from participating as fully in academic life.
Both school faculty members as well as parents of students have shown concern about the lack of amenities at the distant new school location and the potentially harmful effects on students’ ability to learn.
Project Description
This project is to build three toilets at the new school: one for the teachers, one for the girls, and one for the boys.
The mayor’s office has financed a water line out to the school in order to make toilet construction possible, demonstrating the community’s commitment to the project, financial and otherwise. The new pipeline is complete and functional.
For this project, materials will first need to be purchased in Dahra Djoloff, the road town 35km northwest, and transported by pick-up truck to Txxxxxxx.
First, the brick maker will blend sand, cement, and gravel to form bricks. The laborer will then dig two 2m x 2m pits (the students’ blocs will share a pit) for the masons to line the pits with the finished bricks along with supporting rebar.
PVC piping will provide an evacuation route from the toilet to the pit as well as ventilation by way of T connector. Stalls will be fashioned with remaining bricks and doors, including the installation of a water spigot (robinet) by the community in each stall, a layer of cement will then be placed above the latrine pit, along with the placement of the Turkish toilets, connecting all relevant piping.
Hand washing stations will also be built by a local metalworker out of rebar and placed strategically so as to encourage proper hand washing behavior.
Additionally, materials necessary for maintenance and longevity of the toilets, such as buckets for flushing waste, plastic kettles for personal hygiene, and cleaning supplies like scrubbing brushes, will be purchased.
Construction of the toilets themselves will begin in December 2017, once the area is solidly out of the rainy season. The initial phase of the construction aspect has already been completed, as the school now has water access.
Messaging on topics such as water, sanitation, hygiene, and toilet maintenance will be delivered.
The PCV will continue her work on the topic of menstrual health and hygiene with female students both attending the elementary school in the village as well as the middle school. More students progress from the village’s elementary school to its middle school each year, so outreach to future generations of middle schoolers is also important.
Project Impact
105 students and staff will benefit from the project.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Alika Johnston
Monitoring and Maintenance
The school will monitor the use of the improvements and maintain the facilities.
Attendance is assiduously kept by the teachers at the middle school, so trends in female attendance may be isolated from before and after project implementation.
Furthermore, absences of the entire student body due to illness may also be tracked in relation to the WASH component of the project. With better WASH practice adherence, all students may enjoy fewer days out of school due to illness.
Let Girls Learn
This project accrues to the benefit of girls, in that it allows them to remain in school, by providing access to resources and privacy so that they may hygienically and discreetly manage their periods while attending classes.
Fundraising Target
$1,600
Funds raised in excess of the project amount will be allocated to other projects in the country.
Donations Collected to Date
$100
ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PROJECT
Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you “naming rights”, if that is something you would like.
Dollar Amount Needed
$1,500
