Appropriate Projects

Community Description
Bolduresti is a rural Moldovan village with just over 4,200 residents. It is located in the Nisporeni District in Western Moldova, right on the Prut River, which forms Moldova's border with Romania. Members of the village are generally hard working and traditional.

The community's economy is heavily based on agriculture, with nearly all of the agricultural operations being small and locally owned. Outside of agriculture the largest employment sectors are local public administration and education.

In 2009 a small group of environmentally-minded citizens in Bolduresti organized an NGO named Ave Terra. They partnered with the local high school to create an ecology club. One of the first activities of the NGO and club was to partner with a French NGO which helped train the involved students on environmentally sustainable ways to live.

As part of this training, the team tested approximately 100 water sources (wells and springs) throughout the community. Unfortunately they found that a majority of the sources were contaminated with various harmful compounds.

One of the main sources of contamination is agricultural, animal, and household wastes being disposed of in the vicinity of the water source. Of the sources tested there is one spring used by 39 different households that has particularly good water. Currently this spring is simply a metal pipe extending from the hillside that creates a muddy pool which tends to attract animals and trash.

Project Description
In order to protect the spring and secure the safety of those families that rely on its water, the ecology club will develop the spring to eliminate exposure to contamination.

With labor donated by skilled community members, and material transportation donated by the local mayor's office, a small trough will be created to contain water from the spring, cover the spring and trough to prevent contamination, install a new pipe, install rock and sand around the spring, and finally pour a small amount of cement to help maintain cleanliness.

Water Charity funds will be used to procure materials with which to improve and protect the spring.

As part of the project the ecology club students will visit each household that relies on the spring to help educate them about the need for maintaining clean water and a clean environment, and teach methods to achieve same. Additionally they will use this project as an example to help promote future education in the community.

Project Impact
110 people will benefit from this project, including those living in households using the well, students, and NGO management.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Curtis Adams and Brittany Hill

Comments
This is an important infrastructure project for the community. It will improve the health and wellbeing of all the residents.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Donations Collected to Date
$0.00

ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW

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

Any contributions in excess of the Dollar Amount of Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.

Dollar Amount Needed
$555.0

The project was to build a well for the Halimatou Suare Women’s Group.

Jessica reports:

I received the full amount and used it to purchase supplies (cement, rebar, pulley, rope, buckets, picks, shovels) and food for the workers (rice, onions, oil, salt, tea, and sugar). There were three well diggers (Alphaomar, Boubacar, and Souly), all local villagers, willing to do the work for the community for a small stipend. Wells usually cost about $600 for labor, but these three men in total only received food and about $200 total.

The men started by using shovels and picks, taking turns to dig the .80 meter wide well. The men worked every morning and evening digging. Since they were unskilled well masons, they simply dug 7 meters deep without lining the well with cement. Once they broke through a meter of rock, water started to pour out and they used the cement and rebar to make molds and line the inside of the well so it won't collapse when the water sits there for long periods of time.

The well is now completed and the women have expressed great gratitude for the now easily- accessible water for both their garden and daily water needs.

One villager approached me since the completion to tell me he has the highest respect for my help in building this well. He knows that it was an unselfish act that I will never gain benefit from, but his village will be able to enjoy the well for many years to come.

As an American, I have never been concerned with water, but having this experience has opened my eyes and taught me how lucky we are to have easily accessible potable water at our fingertips. I hope to bring back home this experience and teach people about the importance of water in the third world.

We are grateful to Jessica for completing the project, and again express our thanks to Pravin Patel, who funded the project in memory of Valiben Patel.

The project was to install a new pump and repair the dilapidated structure protecting the pump.

Kamran reports:

Thank you once again for your generous assistance in providing access to clean water for the Leliani multi-use building! We are happy to report that the motor is now operational and water is now available to the following communities: (1) approximately 300 residents who use the community center “Leli” annually, (2) approximately 40 children enrolled at the village kindergarten, (3) approximately 50 students enrolled in the village music school, and (4) an internally displaced family from Abkhazia living in the building. These people would like to express their sincerest gratitude to you for helping them gain access to clean water for food preparation, drinking, cleaning, and toilet facilities.

With the assistance of the community center “Leli,” the community installed a new water pump, rebuilt the building sheltering the electric water-pump, and secured the building with a lockable door so that kindergarteners cannot access the electrical system. Over 10 community members assisted with the masonry work to rebuild the building protecting the water pump, including many fathers and grandfathers of the kindergarteners who volunteered their time to help provide access to water for their children and grandchildren. In addition to labor, the community also donated a lockable door, roof tiles and cement. The total community contribution to this project was approximately 40% of the total project cost.

Also, in the next few weeks, the community members plan to use a plaster/cement mixture to smooth out the walls of the building and paint the exterior. Since the building is in the schoolyard of the kindergarten, the villagers and children wish to paint the walls with bright colors to help improve the appearance of the schoolyard.

We are grateful to Kamran for completing this important project.

The project was to create two bathroom stalls and hand washing stations inside the Lyceum.

Diana reports:

This project was to convert an existing custodian utilities room into two bathroom stalls and hand washing stations inside the Lyceum for the use of students, teachers and staff.

Although construction took a little longer than expected, the Lyceum toilet project has been completed.

From the funds received from Appropriate Projects and money raised by selling crops, the school was able to purchase three toilets, two sinks, faucets, plastic plumbing pipes, doors, cement, and tile.

Teachers and staff specialized in plumbing and electrical work volunteered their time and labor to complete the project. The school is very happy with the results.

Teacher Irina Petrovna stated:

"I'm really satisfied with having a bathroom at the school now.  It has changed my attitude towards going to work as I don't need to use a primitive, dirty and cold in the winter toilet. We have a sink now which makes using the toilet more sanitary. The school truly appreciates your donation."

Our thanks go to Diana for completing this project and to her friends and family for their donations.

The project was to build a rainwater storage tank at the Local Chairman I's office, a public facility.

Liza reports:

The rainwater tank has been completed. We had to move the location because of problem with the original site selected, but otherwise the project went according to plan.

We were able to build a 10,000 liter tank. The local contribution toward the project almost matched the funding from Water Charity.

The process was simple: They built a base out of stones and cement. They then built a mold out of chicken wire. The tank was then built up around the mold out of waterproof cement and left to dry.

Gutters were added to the building, and piping was installed to direct the rainwater from the gutters to the tank.

Thank you for all of your help. Water is the biggest problem my community faces, and every tank we can build makes a difference.

We are grateful to Liza for completing the project, and again wish to thank Roberta Kenney and other friends and family for providing the funding.