2013
Total Donated in 2013: $5,000
March 2013- Total $2,000
$464.55 GHANA- Local Kindergarten Classroom Project
The Presby Primary School, a public school in the community, wants to complete a building for their kindergarten classroom. The building is already partially constructed, but the school lacks the funds to complete the building. Since the classroom is not complete, kindergarten classes are held in a nearby church, next to a busy lorry route that creates a safety hazard for children. Completion of the new classroom will allow students to move to a much safer location for classes. There are several teachers at the primary school who also have training as masons and are happy to contribute their skills and labor to see the project through to completion.
$518.11 TANZANIA-Braiding, Bedding, and Building Brains
The local Primary School Committee is requesting funds to repair and furnish bedrooms for their primary school pupils in Standard Seven. Right now, they are required for one year to sleep in empty cement rooms that are in disrepair. The community gets very cold in July and August, and this situation is a health and safety risk for the students. The school committee has proposed a project that will repair the rooms and get beds, mattresses, and blankets for these pupils while at the same time teaching them marketable skills for a total grant cost of TShs. 2,349,250. This project will be started on March 15, 2013 and completed by May 15, 2013. The Committee members for this project are the head teacher, two supporting teachers, the head of the school committee, the village executive officer, the chairman, the senior carpenter in the village, and the two PC volunteers assigned to the village.
$1,017.34 VANUATU Local Health Center Renovation
Our local health center was built in 1957 and has since had very few repairs or maintenance performed on the building. Its quality is deteriorating and with a shortage of nurses in Vanuatu, the staff is struggling to meet the health demands of the area. The proposed renovations will revitalize the building and help staff to meet their goals of educating on and improving health throughout the island of Epi.
This project will: - provide window screens to prevent flies, rats and mosquitoes from entering the building, purchase tile for labor and maternity wards for easier clean up following baby deliveries and allow for the construction of three improved toilets to develop infrastructure for better sanitation within the facility - purchase paint for improved appearance and health related murals, including a world a map - purchase three filing cabinets to decrease destruction of family records, promote confidentiality and ensure a better record keeping system - create an area designated for women to be used for educational purposes of family planning and antenatal care as well as maternal and child health needs following delivery.
The health center and surrounding village will provide all labor, transportation, and local materials needed for the project. Together these upgrades will increase sanitation, allow for increased knowledge of patient and family histories and more accurate diagnoses, and revitalize respect for the facility needed to keep it running effectively.
September 2013- Total $3,000
$2000 - PANAMA Latrines & Reforestation Project
This is a project to construct arborloo latrines for up to 40 homes, or 90% of the households in this small community. The arboloo is not just a sanitary option for human defecation but also a good, long-term option for reforestation with fruit trees. Once the shallow pit is filled it is topped with soil, and a young fruit tree is planted while the housing and platform are relocated over a new hole. This pattern makes the project unique from normal pit latrine projects in that it is continuous and sustainable. The community is providing all the natural resources such as wood, sand, and gravel for this project as well as all the labor. They have also designed the structure of the latrines to be built and formed a committee to run the project. They are requesting outside funds to help pay for certain materials, equipment, and transportation.
$500 - LESOTHO Primary School Latrines
Primary School Latrines, Lesotho - Update
Children at a primary school in my community are currently using the bushes surrounding the school building as their toilet. Such open defecation can often lead to infectious diseases. Due to the HIV crises in this community -Lesotho has the third highest HIV prevalence in the world; diseases which may seem simple to fight off in most places can often prove to be fatal to these immune compromised children. There are over 37,000 children in Lesotho under the age of 14 living with HIV. In addition, the country has 488,526 orphans and vulnerable children resulting in many child-run households or causing children to be left in the care of their grandparents. Even though public transport to the nearest hospital in the camp town is a little over 9 miles of rough road and cost 18 Maloti (~$2.00), households such as these are often unable to afford this cost. The only local medical care available to this community is a small and understaffed clinic with no doctors. The health of these students is vastly important, and it is vital that we use the means of sanitation to help in the prevention of infectious diseases. That is why we have planned to build VIP latrines. This type of pit latrine aims to remove smells and flies from the latrine using a vent pipe. The latrines will be double vaulted, increasing their sustainability. Students will be educated on the usage and importance of latrines and Tippy Tap hand washing stations.
$500 -CAMEROON Nets Needed! Save A Life!
Nets Needed! Save A Life! works by providing mosquito nets for all households in this small rural village in Cameroon. The program first trains community educators, healthcare providers, and school staff. These newly trained community members help to implement preventative interventions such as mosquito net hang-up campaigns and educating the village at the health center, in schools, and with door-to-door education. Recently, the trained community educators held a village-wide testing campaign in which they tested and treated every child under the age of five in the village. However, because the village does not have the mosquito nets they direly need, the education and work of the community educators cannot fully help the village. Malaria comprises over 30% of the village's health center visits and is the reason for countless deaths each year in the community. Nets Needed! Save A Life! will work to ensure each household receives the nets and education that its residents need in order to protect themselves from this harmful disease.