Cotova Water Supply Project - Moldova

Community Description
Cotova is a village of approximately 4,000 residents located in Northern Moldova, about thirty kilometers from the Ukrainian border. This area experiences cold winters and mild, pleasant summers. Snow usually begins sometime in November, staying on the ground until at least late January.

Cotova is blessed with fertile, black land that is good for growing wheat, corn, sunflowers, and almost every temperate climate fruit and vegetables.

During the Soviet Union era, the Cotova "colhoz" was one of the leading collectives in growing tobacco. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the village collective was disbanded. The mayor's office divided the collective's land and gave each collective worker (nearly everyone in the village) a "quota" of land, equaling a little over one hectare.

Unfortunately, like so much of Moldova, Cotova's agricultural economy has failed to sustain its work force, forcing nearly every family to have at least one person working abroad to help cover living costs at home.

Cotovans are a hard working, self reliant people who often build their own houses and grow and make nearly everything they consume. They grow and harvest wheat so that they can make homemade bread. They make their own sugar and vodka from the sugar beets they grow, and cooking oil from sunflower seeds. They work all summer preserving fruits and vegetables so that they won't need to buy food in the winter.

Project Description
This project will complete the water system for Cotova by purchasing and installing the final piping needed to reach the segments of the community that remain unserved.

Previous projects have brought running water to Cotova's school (where approximately 600 students attend), day care center (attended by 100 children, ages 3 to 6), the doctor's office, and approximately one hundred households.

Although the work to serve the rest of the community nears completion, unexpected costs and inflation have left the community organization unable to buy the remaining 300 meters of piping needed to bring water to the last 50 houses scheduled to receive water.

Project funds will be used for the materials and fuel costs for the tractors that will dig the canals for the pipes. Labor, as well as a portion of the fuel costs, will be provided by the beneficiary community.

Project Impact
This project will bring water to 50 households, or approximately 200 people, in the community.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Justin Allen

Comments
This project definitely fits within our objectives of “finishing” projects and providing the “last dollar”. It proves the value of being able to move quickly to get the money where it is needed before the weather makes completion of the project infeasible until next year. It assists self-reliant people who find themselves in a poor financial condition to gain the human right of safe water for their families.

Dollar Amount of Project
$500.00

Donations Collected to Date
$500.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded, through the generosity of Basil Englis, of Rome, GA, USA, and friends.

This project is officially designated The Englis Family and Friends Water Project – Moldova

Any additional donations for this project will be used to fund the next project by Justin and/or those of his counterpart PCVs in Moldova.

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

Conclusion of Cotova Water Supply Project – Moldova

The Cotova Water Supply Project – Moldova has been completed under the able direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Justin Allen. Justin’s report shows how a small amount of assistance delivered precisely when needed can accomplish a tremendous amount for an entire community.

To read about the background of this project, CLICK HERE.

Justin reports:

We have finished digging the canal and laying the pipe. We finished a little over a week before Christmas, right before the first snowstorm! Our organization received a lot of support and contribution from the neighborhood, with roughly twenty people helping dig the canal and lay the pipe.

We started digging the canal roughly half a kilometer down the hill from the location of the water towers. (Andrew and his partner are shown standing in front of them in the bottom picture on the project page.) We were able to dig and lay pipe up to the house nearest the main road.

Fortunately, the money budgeted was sufficient to bring running water to all the scheduled houses in the targeted neighborhood.

So far it seems that everything was done correctly, because last Saturday the temperature was -9 degrees Fahrenheit and none of the pipes froze.

All of the money was spent on pipes and diesel fuel, as according to the project's budget.

We are very grateful for the work that you all do at Appropriate Projects, as are all the people in Cotova who now have running water. We are also extremely grateful to Basil Englis and friends, who covered the cost of the project.

We, in turn are appreciative of the work done by Justin and the people of Cotova who worked on this project. Any additional donations will be used to fund the next project by Justin and/or those of his counterpart PCVs in Moldova.