Vilkovo Bathroom Project – Ukraine

Location
Vilkovo, Odessa Oblast, Ukraine

Community Description
Vilkovo is a small town at the very southern tip of the Odessa Oblast near the tributary of the Danube River and the Black Sea. It has a population of about 9,000 spread out in the delta of the Danube River at its tributary with the Black Sea.

Vilkovo’s economy is based on the shipping industry. Many men from the town work on cargo ships and on fishing. Vilkovo has a small business district in its downtown area that is host to several small shops and an open-air market.

 The First School of Vilkovo is located right in the middle of the business district. The school is home to about 300 students, ages 7-17, and 25 teachers.

The students and staff currently use a pit toilet adjacent to the playground. The toilet also serves patrons of the business district. This creates more traffic than the facility was built to accommodate, is a public health hazard, and is likely a source of sickness that puts many students out of school every winter.

Project Description
This project is the addition of a toilet facility and handwashing station to a planned extension of the First School of Vilkovo.

An addition has been planned for the school, to be built in the summer of 2012. The addition will be funded by the local school administration. The project is the addition of a plumbed toilet facility to the school’s new extension.

This toilet facility will consist of separate male and female bathrooms. There will be 4 toilets and 2 sinks in each. Water will come from the city water line and sewage waste will go to an underground septic tank, maintained by a local septic pumping company.

The facility will be open to the public at certain hours on a pay-per-use basis. This will supply the school with additional funding to cover the costs of the toilets and septic tank maintenance.

The project will be constructed by a local construction company that has worked with the local school administration in the past.

The toilet facility will be funded through a partnership program grant with the Peace Corps and funds from Water Charity.

The local community of Vilkovo will be contributing 50 percent of the total cost.

Project Impact
Approximately 2,500-3,000 individuals will use this toilet on an annual basis.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Jeffrey Ball

Comments
This project brings together massive community and school support with funding organizations brought in to provide assistance to create a necessary and substantial sanitary facility for the school.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Dollar Amount Needed
This project was determined to be infeasible. The project was terminated without the expenditure of funds. Please choose another project for your donation.