Ventilated Latrines for The Village Of Chuisac In Guatemala

We are proud to announce another exciting project by Water Charity. We feel strongly that this project exemplifies the way international assistance projects should be approached.

While traveling in Guatemala, we had a fortuitous meeting with a Peace Corp volunteer, Katie McKenna. This energetic and enthusiastic young woman reinforced our commitment to follow a strategy of working closely with Peace Corps Volunteers in the field. We let her know that we would be interested in funding any water or sanitation projects she might be able to organize before leaving her post.

Katie got back to us with a wonderful project in which she would work together with the villagers themselves and a local NGO with which she had previously partnered. In short, Water Charity decided to fund the building of latrines for the entire village of Chuisac in Chimaltenango.

The project will be done in stages, with the first 20% already in motion. We will keep everyone posted about it here, and Katie will give us occasional narrative and photographic reports from the field. Here is Katie's assessment of the situation in her village and the need for latrine construction:

Ventilated Latrines
Chuisac, Varituc is located 5km outside the town of San Martin Jilotepeque and has a community of about 140 families, the vast majority of whom do not have a latrine in an acceptable condition. The majority of the latrines do not have walls or roofs, and there are some latrines being used by two or three families, on average 8-10 (and as many as 14) people using a latrine. The health promoters in the village have noticed that in some of the houses, grade school kids are defecating in the yard. The community is concerned about its health and wants to better its sanitary conditions and rid themselves of diarrhea diseases, especially in young children (every year multiple infants are hospitalized with diarrhea), and because of this, they are interested in the construction and use of latrines. The latrine consists of a pit in the ground 5 meters deep and 85 cm in diameter, a 1 square meter cement floor with a cement seat, cinderblock walls, a laminated roof, and a PVC tube that serves as a vent in order to get rid of bad odors.

The total cost of one latrine is over 1,000 Quetzales, but the families have agreed to put up half the cost in local materials and manual labor, bringing the price of 1 latrine down to about 560 Quetzales. There are currently about 100 families in Chuisac interested in a latrine, bringing the total amount to 56,000 Quetzales or $7,500.

Water Charity is committed to seeing this whole project through to comple tion, and will raise the entire $7,500. The labor itself will be done by the villagers, assisted by the Guatemalan NGO Behrhorst Partners for Development. As mentioned, 20% of the project is already funded and underway. That leaves $6,000 as yet unfunded.

If you would like to contribute specifically to this latrine project, you can specify that in a note with your donation. Your entire contribution will be used only for construction in the field, and no portion of it will go for overhead or administration. For just $75 you can purchase an entire latrine.

Progress Report on Katie M’s Latrines

Katie reports that the first 20 latrines have been completed, and that holes have been dug for 20 more. That really puts the pressure on us to keep up, as we have told her that we won’t stop until the whole town has latrines.

With your help, we can do this. Here is a note from one of our donors:

“I am hoping to be able to keep fund raising and whenever I get enough money for a latrine I will send it. This money is being donated by the operating room staff and physicians at Minneapolis Children's Hospital.”

Why don’t you do the same thing? Pass the hat around the office, and donate $75 for one latrine. Let us know it’s for Katie’s Latrines. Click the Donate button use PayPal or your credit card. Otherwise, send a check to Water Charity, P.O. Box 368, Crestline, CA 92325-0368.

Katie reports:

“In many cases, we have 13 people currently using 1 latrine, and the picture of the men building the latrine is in a house where there is NO latrine. They had the hole dug, but they didn't have the money to buy the little house around it and the seat.

“These families worked day and night to get the holes and latrines done, digging holes 23 to 50 feet deep! It is scary work in a hole that deep and narrow. For the latrine you see being built, the family went down 120 feet!!

“They are very serious about this. We are doing education along with the latrine project as well. It is not good enough just to give a technology (however crude). It must be accompanied by education on its use. It may seem obvious how to use a latrine, but many communities have them and still children are defecating in the patio.

“This is a huge mechanism for the spread of disease and cause of diarrhea. We have done multiple educational trainings and discus sions with the beneficiaries of this latrine project to make sure that they are used well and that this project will actually improve health, the end goal.

“Right now, my community has water, but according to the American nurse who visits us once a month, we have one of the highest incidences of diarrhea of all the communities in which she works. These latrines are crucial to the improvement of my community's health. They have made this project their priority, organized faster and better than I could ever have believed, and they are ready to finish it up.”

To read the background to this project, click HERE.

Urgent Challenge to Complete Katie McKenna’s Latrines

We previously reported on the urgency of the need to raise funds to complete Kate McKenna’s project to provide latrines for the entire community of Chuisac, Guatemala.

The latest news is that all of the holes have been dug for all of the latrines in the community! This increases the urgency, to say the least.

An extremely generous donor, Bruce Bain, has stepped up to the plate, and issued the following offer:

He will match all donations, dollar for dollar! However, the donations must be made before Midnight on March 17.

Water Charity started the funding of this project with our contribution of $1,500. Katie quickly completed 20 latrines, demonstrating her amazing capacity for performing as promised.

Katie then reported that she had an additional $1,075 lined up from friends and family. At that point, Bruce offered to match eve ry donation above that, up to $2,000, to enable Katie to finish the project.

We have reached and surpassed the $1,075 threshold, so every dollar you contribute now results in a two dollar contribution to the project. No part of your contribution goes for salary or administrative costs.

We urge you to contribute at once, by clicking on the Donate button. Let us know it is for Katie’s latrine project.

You can read the background of this project HERE.

Update on Katie M’s Latrines: She Made the Challenge!

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.

Conclusion of Katie McKenna's Latrine Project

Katie McKenna is completing her Peace Corps service in Guatemala, and returning to the United States to continue her education, her career, and her life. We are extremely grateful to her, not only for the work that she did, but for the inspiration she has given us

In all, 91 latrines were completed. The project was inaugurated by the happy and appreciative townspeople, and will stand as a reminder of her selfless efforts.

Katie will be credited with creating the model of combining a terrific project with a supportive fundraising effort. It was only through her tireless conviction that such an ambitious project could be undertaken and completed in such a short time.

You can read the history of the project HERE.