This project has been completed under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Jennie Wysong.
To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.
The project was to build 15 simple pit latrines throughout the village.
Jennie reports:
The latrine project has been completed, with the construction of 30 latrines.
After my work partner and I completed the initial latrine assessment we gathered everyone in the village together for a meeting to ask their opinion on the sanitation situation in the village. They chose to elect a sanitation committee consisting of 5 men from the village, which met immediately to discuss planning a project. The president of the committee met with me that same night and presented a list of 63 families who were interested in getting simple pit latrines.
The committee was responsible for planning the entire project, and decided to increase the amount of contribution required from each participating family in order to stretch the amount of money farther and make more latrines. The money from Appropriate Projects was used to buy 65 sacks of cement and two tonnes of rebar and transport it back to the village, and the project participants provided all other materials and negotiated the fee on their own with the mason.
Once the supplies were purchased the committee called a meeting of all interested families and held a lottery to determine which of them would receive one of the 30 latrines. The winning families were given one month to dig their 1 x 3 meter hole and collect enough rocks and sand for construction, and the six families who failed to meet this deadline had their latrines reassigned to a different family.
The entire project took approximately a month and a half to complete, and the 30 new latrines are currently being used by over 200 people. Since each family was responsible for their own construction, each latrine is unique and reflects the families own preferences as to shape (round or square) and position/design of foot pedestals. Two families opted to purchase more cement in order to line their latrine pit with bricks, extending the life of that pit by several years.
Thank you so much for helping improve the quality of life and sanitation in our village. The sanitation committee is very proud of the role it played in building these latrines, and wants to express their gratitude for making this project possible.
We, in turn, are grateful to the committee and to Jennie for carrying out the project, and to The Andando Foundation and Jennie’s friends and family for providing the funding.
