EC 13 - NEW TOILETS FOR THE SCHOOL OF S. MARIA DE LOS CAYAPAS
Project Location
The School of S. Maria de los Cayapas is located in the heart of the rainforest, in a remote and difficult to access area. It is the most isolated school in the Apostolic Vicariate of Esmeraldas, attended by 270 students between the ages of 5 and 18, belonging to the Afro-descendant and Chachis ethnic groups. Getting to the school is not easy: there are no passable roads, and to get there you have to travel the Cayapas River for three hours in large canoes, followed by another 50 kilometers by land.
The School of S. Maria de los Cayapas is a comprehensive school that includes primary and secondary school as well as a technical school specialized in agriculture. It is the most isolated school in the Vicariate, it receives a subsidy from the government to cover the cost of salaries which however has been removed leaving these with all the ancillary expenses such as maintenance, transport, teaching materials, construction work and purchases are paid by the school itself. People contribute through school fees which however are not able to cover all the costs.
Project description
At the moment, one of the main problems of the school concerns the toilets: currently there is no running water and students are forced to take it from the well to wash their hands and to use the toilets. Unfortunately, the well has little water, since it is very complicated to take water from the river, making the situation even more precarious. Furthermore, not all the toilets have doors and many are seriously damaged. The water infiltrations from the roof, due to frequent rains, further worsen the hygienic conditions and make the environment even less safe and dignified for the students.
Despite these difficulties, the children and young people of the S. Maria de los Cayapas school continue to attend with enthusiasm, driven by the desire to learn and build a better future. But in order to continue to grow and develop in a healthy environment, it is essential that the school be put in a position to offer them adequate facilities.
For this reason, our goal is to renovate the toilets, provide them with running water by building a cistern on the roof to collect rainwater, improve the roof to protect the rooms from infiltrations and guarantee all students safe and dignified toilet spaces.
Since the work cannot be carried out with the presence of the students, it is planned to implement the project in the months of March and April when the school will be closed.
Objective
- Build new bathrooms for the school to provide a healthier and more dignified environment
Beneficiaries
Direct: 270 students
Indirect: families and society in general
Local participation
The parents of the students have committed to covering all the part related to the demolition of the old bathrooms, while the bishop of Esmeraldas has promised to participate in the project with 8,000 USD.
Project's costs