Guatemala

In the past, we have focused on providing safe water and effective sanitation for those in need. “Sanitation” has mostly been limited to toilets, latrines, and drainage. In this project, we address a third part of our mission, the provision of public health resources to improve sanitation and hygiene.

This project is to construct 64 concrete floors in homes that presently have only dirt floors. The concrete will be mixed on site and poured and finished to a thickness of 6 centimeters.

The project will be implemented in the community of El Jícaro, Comitancillo, located in the department of San Marcos, Guatemala.

The objective of the project is to decrease the transmission rate of preventable infectious diseases (especially respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases) among rural families by improving sanitary conditions and hygiene within the home, resulting in healthier, more productive families.

The project has been planned by the community leaders and health promoters, together with other community members, who have been participating in monthly preventive health education activities since June 2010. The project grew out of an evaluation of the needs, which resulted in a determination that this project will address a problem of critical importance to the community.

The project is being implemented by Peace Corps Volunteer Lauren Truxillo. Lauren has been in site since July 2009, working in coordination with the local Health Center to train health promoters in preventive health.

As a Healthy Homes Peace Corps Volunteer, Lauren trains community health promoters and community leaders about preventive health education, and monitors the health promotion activities they carry out within their community. She trains them in organizational and project design skills so that they may develop the capacity to continue planning successful community projects in the future.

The community has undertaken the responsibly to carry out the project in its entirety, from planning and monitoring the project to managing funds and distributing materials. Additionally, they will contribute 100% of the labor expenses, which is 38% of the total project cost.

Project funds will be use to buy the materials, including cement, gravel, and sand necessary for the construction of the floors. (It is to be noted that the small stream that runs through the community is not a sufficient source of sand for the project.)

The project will directly benefit the 451 people who live in the homes, including the 74 women and 6 men who participate in the trainings.

This project has now been fully funded, through the generosity of friends and family of Peace Corps Volunteer Lauren Truxillo.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Lauren of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Lauren and/or those of other PCVs in the country.

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

The population to be served is a portion of the 3,000 people who live and work in Central America’s largest landfill, the Guatemala City Garbage Dump. These people spend long days sorting through trash to find and sell recyclable items. They have formed communities on top of layers of trash, with tin walls and roofs housing an average of eight people per household.

Within these homes there is a general lack of running water and hygienic practices, leading to frequent health problems including intestinal infections, parasites, and amoebas among others.

Many only receive water for a couple of hours in the morning or night, where it is stored in a barrel for up to 24 hours. The water is exposed to bacteria and other microorganisms, making it harmful to the health of children and families when consumed.

Safe Passage’s mission is to create opportunities and foster dignity through the power of education. Their program currently serves over 500 children and nearly 300 families.

Water Charity intervened in May of 2009 with the goal of improving the health of families participating in Safe Passage’s programs. Under the direction of Liz Love, who heads up the Adult Literacy program, we provided 46 water filters from Ecofiltro to 42 Adult Literacy homes, as well as one small filter for the Literacy classroom and three large filters, one for the Early Education Center and two for the main Reinforcement Building.

These filters, along with one workshop on the use of the filter and good hygiene practices, have reduced the frequency of diarrhea and other intestinal problems in the target families. In addition, there have been many reports of higher consumption of water and satisfaction with the water quality.

Building on the success of the pilot project for water filters, along with Safe Passage’s desire to support more of the families participating in its programs, this project provides the opportunity to extend access to clean water to additional families.

The Adult Literacy program continues to grow, now including a new Men’s Evening Class and many new students. This project is to provide 35 additional Ecofiltro ceramic water filters to serve 280 persons in this new and unserved group.

Additionally, Safe Passage will provide training on installation and maintenance of the filters, along with general hygiene and nutrition, to each family.

Water Charity holds to the model of following up successful high-impact projects, more of the same. The first filter project more than met our expectations in terms of the numbers served, the compliance in continued use of the filters, and the resultant reduction of waterborne illness. The recipients were, and continue to be, very appreciative, noting the obvious decrease of illness within their families. We are grateful for the opportunity to be able to expand the concept to an additional group of people as part of the integrated services being provided by Safe Passage.

This project has now been fully funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We are particularly appreciative of the support by Six Senses for our projects in Guatemala during these trying times in the wake of the volcanic eruption and flooding. Any donations using the Donate button below will go toward additional water and sanitation projects for the families at the Guatemala City Garbage Dump, which have been particularly devastated by this tragedy.

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

The project is being carried out in Coxjac, Totonicapan, Guatemala, under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Casey Kittredge.

The latrines will be used by all three groups of students who use the school (elementary, middle school and a weekend middle school program) for a total of 240 students and 12 teachers. The current bathrooms have been deemed unsanitary by the Department of Health due to their proximity to the area where the atol, the morning snack, is prepared for the elementary students.

The walls will be built using filled recycled plastic bottles, covered with concrete. Project funds will be used to purchase materials, including rebar, cement, sand, gravel, wire, chicken wire, wood planks, and corrugated metal sheets.

The community will provide all manual labor during the construction of the latrines.

Planning meetings have taken place with the Mayor, the community, school personnel, and parents. The work will be coordinated by a committee that has been formed. After construction, the committee will be responsible for the ongoing maintenance.

This project has been fully funded through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Volunteer Casey Kittredge of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Casey and/or those of her counterpart PCVs in Guatemala.

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

The Escuela Oficial Rural Mixta has little access to water, consisting of a small chorro that receives water once a week for an hour. The young students currently bring water in 2-liter bottles from their homes or the local stream to school in order to sustain the water supply.

Teachers do not have water to mop their floors or to teach basic hygiene to the children. Atol, a mid-morning snack, cannot be handed out due to the lack of water. At times water must be borrowed from neighbors in order to do necessary chores.

The project is being administered by Peace Corps Volunteer Ashley Kissinger.

Water Charity is pleased to be participating with other NGOs in this project, and our funds will go for skilled labor and materials. The community and parents from the school are contributing additional labor, and will maintain the tank and pipes upon completion.

To see plans for the project, CLICK HERE.

This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Peace Corps Ashley Kissinger of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Ashley and/or those of her counterpart PCVs in Guatemala.

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

In the municipality of Santa Apolonia, Ellen works with two rural agricultural communities, Chuaparal I—an indigenous population—and Cojulya—a primarily Ladino population. Over half of the 47 families in the two groups do not have latrines. For those that do, the latrines, which often serve for more than one family, are in poor condition and do little to aid fecal control.

The communities are plagued by chronic diarrhea and other gastrointestinal diseases. The groups have requested a community latrine project, which will benefit a combined 300 men, women, and children.

Ellen is part of the Rural Home Preventive Health project, Peace Corps Guatemala. Volunteers are partnered with local health centers in various municipalities. Each health center reports to departmental level health centers which then report to the ministry of health.

Volunteers work with health center personnel to inform the local populace about preventive health habits and then to construct needed technology.

The water table is high in both communities, and pit latrines contaminate the ground water. Thus, composting latrines are the best option for the families.

Composting latrines are above ground and do not contaminate the water table. The movable seat sits on top of one side of a large cement box that is separated into two compartments. One side is used at a time, throwing ash or other dry matter after each use (to aid in decomposition) until it is full. The side is then sealed with a cement top and after six months the fecal matter decomposes into compost. During this time the family is using the other side of the latrine and the cycle continues.

The nutrient-rich compost is then used in the fields to enhance the quality of the crops. Furthermore, the composting latrine has a life-span that is over four times that of a pit latrine. The women have also noted that these latrines alleviate the common fear of children falling into pit latrines.

The latrines require continual education. Therefore, several models will be constructed, two in a school shared by the communities and three in group member homes. The school models will aid in instructing the children how to use the latrines and the home models will allow for the families to share their experiences.

All members of the interested families will be required to attend several presentations on the importance of the latrines, how they function, and how to maintain them. After three months, the families will construct their latrines with the help of a mason.

The two women’s groups are currently forming a single legalized group in order to aid one another in bettering the health of their communities. The primary goals of the group are to further education regarding preventive health and to provide needed technology projects for the communities.

For this project, the elected representatives of the group will not only be helping with the implementation of the project, but also teaching community members about the importance of a latrine for family health. The experience of this project will enable the united women to continue education and create future projects.

The community will provide the labor and all gravel needed for construction. The municipality will provide the funding and labor for the five models. In addition, the municipality has agreed to supply sand, transport of materials, and the mason for the family latrines.

This is a terrific project, which has brought together many entities and funding sources to get the job done. Water Charity is pleased to be able to enable the proliferation of composting latrines in these communities, leading to great impact on their public health.

$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts and Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

Any additional donations using the Donate button below will be used to fund other projects by this PCV and/or other PCVs in this country.

Melanie reports:

"The community has recently been connected to the local drainage and public water. The school has the opportunity to construct projects that will prove to be sustainable for years to come. By connecting the water system of the school to the public water system, the school would be able to count on water 100% of the time.

"The purpose of the water deposit is to allow water to be stored until the construction and paving of the highway is completed. This construction has cut the school off from water more than three days a week due to pipes being damaged. Thus the need for a water deposit remains.

"Although the school has existing toilets, they are drained into a seepage pit. The pit is nearly full due to the constant u

The school receives no water during daytime hours. Water is needed for drinking, food preparation, handwashing, and cleaning.

Each and every morning, along with their notebooks and pencils, students are required to bring with them 2-liter bottles full of water in order to sustain the school’s water supply.

Water Charity is funding a water deposit tank so students will no longer have to haul heavy bottles long distances, and will be able to learn in a healthy and sanitary environment.

Check back here to see how the project progresses. In the meantime, please make a donation which will be used specifically for the completion of this project, by clicking on the Donate button below.

If you prefer to send a check, please make it payable to Water Charity, with the designation Kristen's Water Tank Project, and send it to:

Averill Strasser, COO
Water Charity
P.O. Box 368
Crestline, CA 92325-0368

This project has now been funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

Any donations using the Donate button below will go toward additional water and sanitation projects in Guatemala.

To see a progress report, click HERE.

In this section, we present a project of Peace Corps Volunteer Katie McKenna, serving in Chiusuc, Guatemala. The project is to build latrines for the entire town!

Katie will be leaving Guatemala in April, and asked if we could fund a last project she wanted to do before she left. After reviewing her proposal, we committed to the project, within her timetable. We told her to start acquiring the materials, as the funds are on their way.

In 2008, Katie raised money to build a two-room elementary schoolhouse in the village of El Zapote. The school is currently under construction and is scheduled to be finished by the end of April. She needed the funds for the latrines and hand washing station for the school.

The project falls directly within our purview of water and sanitation. We are providing the resources that enable the completion of the school.

There are 47 families in the village of El Zapote, and 51 school-aged children who will directly benefit from this project.

Katie says: “There will be a set of 4 latrines constructed of cement block (like the schoolhouse) with simple concrete toilet seats, and a paved floor. The hand washing station will be an elevated water deposit with 8 taps, constructed of block and concrete.”

We will keep you informed on the progress of the project. If you believe that this project has merit, send us a donation. Your funds will be used to complete it, and to undertake others like it.

To read the update on Katie B’s School Project, CLICK HERE.