Location
Thiara, Kolda District, Kolda Region, Senegal
Community Description
A small farming community in the south of Senegal. The middle school students in Thiara are lively and enthusiastic. They would greatly appreciate latrines for their school.
Problem Addressed
There are no latrines at the middle school in Thiara. Previous latrines were built unskillfully, leaving students without access to sanitation.
Project Description
The project is to build latrines, one for boys and one for girls, at the local middle school. The reason for this is that there are currently no latrines at the school. They had hoped to build a new one this year, however, not enough students are paying their inscription fees, leaving the school with little money to spare.
While people in the village are generally using latrines, many of the students come from other villages and it is unclear what their level of latrine usage is. Additionally, if students need to use a latrine during class, it can be a bit of a walk to find the nearest latrine. This pulls students out of class for unnecessary amounts of time, if they choose to look for a latrine. Also, the lack of a latrine and shelter can dissuade girls from going to school when on their period, as they would have to walk somewhere to find a place to clean themselves, an undesirable situation.
The middle school has attempted to build latrines for the school in the past, but the mason they used was unskilled and the latrines broke. A reliable mason living in the village has been conscripted to build two pit latrines with shelters, one for boys and one for girls. The pit latrines will be built in one corner of the school grounds, opposite the well. The latrines will have pits 2 meters by 2 meters with cement lining, cement slab, cement shelters, zinc roofs, and zinc doors. The mason chosen has built many latrines in the village and the surrounding area, several of which have been standing for quite some time, and all appear of sound structure.
A hand-washing course will be given and the students will help build hand washing stations outside of the latrines.
The funds will be covering the cost of the majority of the materials such as cement, sand, gravel, rebar, and zinc, while the community will be contributing by paying for the manual labor required to build the latrines, including the mason and an assistant. Additionally, the community will be covering the cost of the transport of the materials from the regional capital to the village, located on the Route National #6. If necessary, the village will also contribute to the cost of the materials for constructing the latrines.
Project Impact
250 students and teachers.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Randi Rumbold
Monitoring and Maintenance
The students are already required to take turns watering trees after school, and we will add replacing water in the latrines. Parents’ Association is providing the lead counterpart and ensuring that the community contribution is collected.
Comments
The materials will be purchased and transported from the regional capital.
This project is part of our Western Africa Water & Sanitation Program.
Dollar Amount of Project
$720
Donations Collected to Date
$80
Dollar Amount Needed
$640
ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE PROJECT.
Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will allow you a posted dedication, if that is something you would like.
This project has been completed. To see the results, CLICK HERE.
