Zall Shoshaj School Bathroom Project – Albania

This project is made possible through the partnership of Water Charity and the National Peace Corps Association.

This is a project under the LET GIRLS LEARN Program, a collaboration of First Lady Michelle Obama and the Peace Corps to expand access to education for girls around the world!
Location
Zall Shoshaj, Mat, Albania E SHKOLLES ZALL-SHOSHAJ, (Anex) Komsi

Community Description
Bashkia Mat, previously Bashkia Burrel, has recently assumed the responsibility for the school buildings in the villages that are within the Mat region. These school buildings are in addition to the schools within the city of Burrel, which they had always been responsible for. This is part of Albania’s Decentralization process that is currently being implemented. Bashkia Mat received notification of four school buildings that should not be opened on the September 14, 2015 opening day due to bathrooms that are non-functioning.

Zall-Shoshaj school is a K-2nd grade school in an annex of the community of Komsi. Komsi is a village and a former municipality in the Dibër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform, it became a subdivision of the municipality Mat. The population at the 2011 census was 4,283. The seat of the municipality now is the town Burrel. Baskia Mat now represents the region of approximately 30,000 people.

Problem Addressed
The “Queen Geraldine Foundation” recently provided the school with the reconstruction of the Kindergarten classroom and the other two-class rooms have been freshened up with cleaning and paint. However, the bathrooms have not been attended to and continue to be open-air, and without functioning toilets or water.

The children have no facilities for simple hygiene, and the teachers lack facilities to clean the younger children.

Project Description
This project is to rebuild the two-toilet bathroom at the school.

The project will completely reconstruct the bathrooms and bring a water source to them.

The work will be done by school staff, parents, and local craftsmen.

The Municipality of Mat will contribute 33% of the construction costs in the form of labor and some materials. Water Charity funds will pay for the remaining expenses.

Project Impact
48 students will benefit from the project, consisting of 22 Kindergarten students and 26 students in grades 1 and 2.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
This project will be implemented by Barbara Richardson, who previously completed the 31 Korrik 9 Vjecare School Bathroom and Water Project – Albania.

Monitoring and Maintenance
Upon completion, the school will provide all monitoring and maintenance of the bathroom

Let Girls Learn
The lack of bathroom facilities is a significant problem for the children, most of whom are girls, who have no means of attending to personal hygiene. This sometimes results in children not going to school when such needs are required.

This project is part of the Let Girls Learn Program, a powerful collaboration between First Lady Michelle Obama and the Peace Corps which was formed to expand access to education for adolescent girls around the world. https://letgirlslearn.peacecorps.gov/.  Lack of clean facilities is a leading cause of women dropping out of school. Water Charity is proud to have sponsored the very first LGL project and continues to be a leading contributor to the program, as evidenced by projects like this one.

As an LGL project, this falls under our 100 Water Projects Program – Albania, as well as our larger Let Girls Learn Initiative – Worldwide.
Fundraising Target
$1,400

Funds raised in excess of the project amount will be allocated to other projects in the country.

Donations Collected to Date
$1,400

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE PROJECT.

Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you “naming rights” if that is something you would like.

Dollar Amount Needed
$0 – This project has been fully funded by friends and family of Peace Corps Volunteer Barbara Richardson.  Additional amounts will be allocated to other projects in Albania.

This project has been completed.  To read about the conclusion, CLICK HERE.