Location
Village of Amindratombo, Commune Rural Sahambavy, District Lalangina, Madagascar
Community Description
The community of Sahambavy, located in the southern highlands of Madagascar, consists of approximately 17,000 people spread across 10 villages. Sahambavy is known for all of the tea production in Madagascar, is a stop on the last operating train routes in country, and has a hotel to accommodate travelers.
This is a progressive town with an honest mayor who works hard to provide for his community. As progressive as Sahambavy is, only 34% of the commune has potable water sources.
The village of Amindratombo is located about 7 K away from the center of the commune and is part of the 34% who fetch their water from rivers, lakes and rice fields contaminated from the lack of water sanitation practices.
The village of Amindratombo has a population of about 1,500 people. It has a primary school that houses grades 1-5 and the students range from 5 to 10 years old.
Currently, the students use the woods nearby as their bathroom. If they are thirsty they must get water from the rice fields (approximately 50 meters away) which are often contaminated from the lack of latrine use, thus leading to various diseases, such as diarrhea.
The rainy season is around the corner so the village has decided that building a well is priority but they plan to follow up this project with the building of a latrine at the school as well.
Project Description
This project is to build a well at the primary school in the village of Amindratombo. The well will be used to provide drinking water for the students. The water will also serve for cleaning the blackboards and watering the plants used as part of the gardening curriculum.
The well will be hand-dug to a depth of 20 meters. Shovels will be used for digging, and a pulley system will be used to remove the dirt from the well.
Water will be available year-round but will be low during the dry seasons. Students will be able to draw water using a bucket and pulley system.
The well have a liner put in before the bricks are laid, and a locked cover will be built over the well to prevent contamination.
The water will most likely have to be treated before the students can drink it, but the PCV, counterpart, and village health educators will give sessions/demonstrations about the different water treatment options, and the best will be implemented.
The village has found a technician that will be in charge of constructing the well, but the village people will also be providing manual labor for the construction process.
Project funds will be used to purchase and transport the following materials: bricks, cement, sheet metal, wood, paint and mortar. Equipment and skilled labor costs are also included in the budget.
The project should be completed in two weeks. The first week will be used for ordering and receiving the bricks and commencing to dig the well. The second week will be used to lay the brick, apply the cement, and build the well cover.
Project Impact
The direct beneficiaries will the 200+ students and 3 teachers at the primary school. The indirect beneficiaries will be the villagers of Amindratombo, numbering about 1,500.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Tisa Kunkee
Comments
This is an urgently needed high-impact project. It will have an immediate and profound impact on the health and wellbeing of the students, as the contaminated water currently used by the students will be replaced by safe water.
Dollar Amount of Project
$440.00
Donations Collected to Date
$440.00
Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Marcia Wijngaarden, of Den Haag, Netherlands.
We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Tisa Kunkee of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Tisa and/or those other PCVs in the country of service.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.