Katie McKenna reached her goal of raising $5,400, and the money continues to come in. As reported previously, a generous benefactor, Bruce Bain, donated $2,000, contingent upon Katie receiving matching contributions. With a tight time limit of one week, there was a public outpouring of support for Katie and the project, and she raised the funds with time to spare.
Katie reports:
“This Friday and Saturday we will be receiving material for 40 more latrines and doing some interactive education with the group about how to change habits and help children to use the new “technology.” Today we are monitoring all the latrines already made to make sure they are being maintained well.”
With some funds left over, Katie is deciding what to do next, from among many worthwhile possibilities. One exciting concept is that she use some funds to provide child toilet seats for the latrines. With “compliance” always an issue in sanitation projects, this would help ensure that children would be able to use the latrines without fear.
We’ll keep you updated as the construction moves to completion. We are struck by the success of the campaign, and we hope that we will be able to capture the essence of the process so that it can be replicated at other times and in other places.
We at Water Charity wish to add our thanks to those of Katie, and express our gratitude to each and every donor who made it happen.
If you haven’t been keeping up with this project, you can read the background HERE.