El Salvador

Community Description
The village of Santa Cruz is located about 55 kilometers northwest of the city of Santa Ana near the border with Guatemala.

Santa Cruz has a population of 362 inhabitants living in 129 houses, a school that includes 180 students, and a clinic that provides non-emergency medical treatment. The clinic and the school make available valuable services to the neighboring 6 communities in the area and are dependent on the local water source as well.

The running water system for the entire rural community, created 25 years ago, consists of a large water tank and pump, a well, a concrete storage box, and various piping to deliver the water to the buildings.

The seasonal change from rainy to dry season has drastic impacts in all areas of life in the region, especially the water supply. During the dry season the river that supplies the water source for the community recedes, and consequently the water is taken from an open well in the ground instead of the stream.

From there, it is sent through a concrete storage container that regulates the flow to the tank. This water source provides a sufficient amount of water to fill the tank once a day. This sustains four hours of access per day to the families, the clinic, and the school.

A second and separate ground water source that exists nearby is not currently being utilized, as it requires development beyond the current resources of the community.

Project Description
This project is to increase the water supply to the village by expanding the water delivery system.

A separate micro-system will be built and joined to the existing well by creating a separate holding box connected into the other source. This will connect this structure directly to the tank, thus doubling the amount of water to the current tank.

In addition, the structural integrity of the tank will be improved, as substantial wear and tear has occurred over the years. (Although the expected life span of this type of tank is estimated to be ten years, through appropriate maintenance and repair, the tank can surpass the normal longevity.)

Project funds will be used to purchase basic materials, including concrete, brick, iron, and sand.

The community members who maintain the system will transport the materials and use them to build the second concrete storage container attached to the separate ground water source.

Project Impact
1,042 people will benefit from the project, including 362 residents of the village, 180 students of the school, and 500 patients at the clinic.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Louis Smith

Comments
This project will succeed in doubling the amount of water supply for the entire community throughout the dry season, as well as provide the necessary and much-needed maintenance to the existing system.

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
$555.00

Community Description
Chinameca is located in eastern El Salvador within the Sierra Tecapa-Chinameca range in the department of San Miguel. The city is located on the northern slope of Cerro El Limbo at an elevation of 580 meters above sea level. Chinameca is 19.1 km west of the city of San Miguel, 2 miles south of the city of Nueva Guadalupe, 2.5 miles east of the city of Jucuapa, and 4 miles south of the Panamerican Highway.

Chinameca is a large town with a total population of 22,311 people. The urban population represents 27.9% of the total. Women hold the majority, and 48% of the population falls between the ages of 18 and 59. More than 32% of the population is of school age (4-17 years). About 8% of the population is younger than 3 years, while over 11% is 60 years of age or older.

Rural areas are dominated by agricultural production, especially coffee, fruit crops, and grains. The sale of these agricultural products serves as the main source of income. A series of public and private institutions serve as places of employment for the local urban population.

Public facilities in the community include City Hall of Chinameca, the sub-delegation of the National Civil Police, the local clinical division of the Ministry of Health, local and national courts, House of Culture, five public elementary schools, one national institute, local offices of the Salvadoran Social Security Services, and Central Farmer’s Market. The private sector consists of the industrial sector, various shops and services.

The industrial sector focuses exclusively on the processing and exporting of coffee. Commercial enterprises include a number of convenience stores, restaurants, hardware stores, bakeries and pharmacies. The service-oriented businesses include a local transportation cooperative, a number of churches, international divisions of the Red Cross, Lions Club and World Vision, professional offices offering medical, dental and legal consultations, a number of Internet cafes and beauty salons, two gas stations, a car wash, and a local NGO with a tree nursery. The city of San Miguel and its institutions also provide employment to the citizens of Chinameca, given the close proximity of the two cities.

There are concerns in Chinameca directly related to water quality and content. It is widely known that water supplies in Chinameca have higher than acceptable levels of fecal coliform, total coliform, and E. coli, as well elevated levels of diluted metals (a result of the geology of the area.)

The biological contaminants and metals in the water supply of Centro Escolar Julián Aparicio have the potential to put at risk childhood development and other public health complications. These are especially high for children still in development stages, like the children attending the school.

Project Description
This project is to install a water tank and filtration and purification system at the school, and to implement a series of interactive health and environmental education activities.

A fully-equipped plastic water tank with a capacity of 5,000 liters will be installed to ensure an abundant and reliable supply of water at the school.

A water filtration and purification system will be installed. This will help in reducing the susceptibility to diseases transmitted by contaminated water and mitigation of development risks and other health complications as a result of elevated pollutant concentrations in the water.

Finally, a series of interactive health and environmental education activities will be carried out to teach good personal hygiene practices as well as proper water use practices to protect and conserve local water sources.

To implement the project, three quotations from different water tank and material suppliers were obtained. In addition, a local mason was hired to carry out the site preparation and installation of the new water filtration, purification, and distribution system.

The site has been measured to ensure accurate and appropriate placement of the new water tank and system. The site still has to be prepared for the new tank, including a thorough cleaning and leveling of the area.

The water tank and the new system will be purchased and transported to the school by the supplier. With the help of the supplier, contractor, and a number of local community members the new tank will be installed in the school.

Centro Escolar Julián Aparicio has contributed $700.00 to the project and has already purchased the water purification system with these funds. An additional $575.00 of in-kind community contribution has been guaranteed by La Asociacion para el Desarrollo de Chinameca (ASDECHI) and local community members.

Through the Peace Corps Partnership Program, friends and family have raised $1,539.54 which will be used to purchase a fully-equipped 5,000 L plastic water tank.

Appropriate Projects funds will be used to purchase materials necessary for the completion of the water filtration and distribution system.

Upon completion of the physical portion of the project, an education campaign will begin in collaboration with school staff and the local Ministry of Health, with students and teachers attending. This will instill the benefits of clean drinking water and personal hygiene practices to ensure public safety and health, in addition to a focus on water in an environmental context.

Project Impact
617 children y 26 teachers of Centro Escolar Julián Aparicio will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Adam Birr

Comments
This project will ensure a healthy and sanitary environment for the children and staff at the school. Our participation in the larger program adds to a huge amount of public and private support, ensuring the success and sustainability of the project.

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
$555.00

Community Description
Caserío Toreras is a small community in the northeastern corner of El Salvador located on the Honduran border. It is made up of 40 houses with a population of 225, and is very rural and isolated. Only vehicles with four-wheel drive can enter the community when the road is dry.

The economy is made up of subsistence farming and cattle raising. 36% of the population are adults over the age of 24, 23% are adolescents between ages 15-24, 30% are children between ages 5-15, and 11% are children under 5 years old. The population is 46% male and 54% female.

One third of households still do not have electricity, and more than half do not have their own source of water.

Within the community there is a school, Centro Escolar Caserío Toreras. The school runs from kindergarten through sixth grade. There are three teachers and currently there are 54 students attending, all residents of Caserío Toreras.

The school currently has six flushable toilets. However, they are not serviceable due to poor conditions in the piping. Generally, water falls for several hours each morning, filling a tank, located next to the bathrooms. That water comes from a natural source and is carried by 550 meters of plastic tubes. There are then metal pipes that carry the water from the tank to each of the six toilets as well as two sink spigots.

The plastic tubes and pipes are currently in such poor condition that, because of leaks, hardly any water gets to the toilets. Almost all of the water is wasted, and within a few hours the tank is empty.

Project Description
This project is to replace the tubes that carry the water from the source to the school’s tank, as well as to buy several barrels in which to keep the water for flushing the toilets.

With this project, 550 meters of plastic tubes will be replaced with more reliable PVC pipes. With the PVC pipes the water will arrive from the source to the tank without leaks.

Two plastic barrels will be purchased and placed by the bathrooms. Instead of trying to fix all of the metal piping that runs underneath the bathrooms, the barrels will be filled with the water from the tank. This will allow the toilets to be flushed by pouring water into the toilets using buckets. It is a much simpler solution and the people are accustomed to flushing toilets in this manner.

A local community development organization, the ADESCO Crismo, will be in charge of the project. The members will install the tubes and supervise the project along with the teachers from the school.

Project Impact
The project will directly benefit the 54 students and 3 teachers at the Centro Escolar Caserío Toreras. In addition, it will serve the 168 remaining inhabitants of the community, as the school is used for all community meetings and events.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Tyler Dato

Comments
This problem resolves the critical problem of providing water for use in the bathrooms by utilizing the functional parts of the existing infrastructure, and replacing the segments necessary to make the system functional. Water in the bathrooms will have a significant positive effect on the hygiene and health of the students, teachers, and community.

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
$555.00

Community Description
The community of Aguas Frias can be found in the canton of Paturla, east of the municipality of Joateca in the department of Morazán. Currently, the community is struggling to find ways to gain access to potable drinking water, specifically for the school.

The only way to get water to the school from a natural water spring 300 meters away is to perforate the surface of the earth about 1 meter and fill buckets with the water which is then taken back to the school. Every day 2-4 children leave class to perform this process and provide water to their peers.

For many years, farmers and families working and living near the fresh water spring used it communally. During this time a small well was constructed to make the process easier for those who wanted to get water from the spring. As of 2008, when the school was constructed, the spring became a daily water source for its students, which they used to drink, cook and wash their hands.

Last year, in 2010, there was a landslide during the winter where the well had been, destroying the easy access it provided and leaving the community and the school without access to potable water.

Project Description
This project is to bring potable water to the school and the community. Specifically, a covered spring box will be built to allow community members to retrieve water for daily use. In addition, piping will be run from the spring box to the school through which water will be provided to the school.

The spring box will built by erecting a cement wall around a ditch in the natural water spring. A cement cover will prevent leaves and other materials that might fall into the box from disrupting the flow of water.

The manual labor will be performed by the school advisory board, or the Asociación del Consejo Escolar, which is made up of parents of students who attend the school.

Project funds will be used to buy cement to construct the spring box and its cover and the cement base for the tank at the school, 200 meters of poliduct tubing, which will run underground to the school, as well as the 1,100 liter Rotoplas tank, which will be placed at the school.

The teachers, students, and health promoter will be able to treat the water with a chlorine solution that kills parasites in the water by adding a few drops on a regular basis.

Project Impact
This project will benefit all of the 72 children, ages 4 to 14 years, who come from the communities of Estanzuela, Aguas Calientes, Coquinka and Cerro de Ocote Seco who attend the school. In addition, at least 200 other community members will benefit.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Shelby Fallon

Comments
This project will deliver safe drinking water to the school and relieve the students of the burden of hauling water each day.

In addition, the spring box will greatly benefit the community members who live near the spring and use it daily. This is expected to lead to the reduction the number of cases of diarrhea and waterborne illness in the community.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Donations Collected to Date
$555.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has been fully funded through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative, together with friends and family of Peace Corps Volunteer Shelby Fallon.

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

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

Community Description
San Antonio El Rebelde is a small cantón of approximately 650 people (mean and median ages of 25 and 18, respectively) living in 115 houses scattered near the top of the semi-mountainous region of San Vicente close to the ‘cerro Sihuatepeque’. Although pertaining to the relatively richer municipality of San Vicente, El Rebelde is in fact exceptionally isolated and extremely poor. In order to get to the closest town, community members must either trek up and down a steep mountain for an hour and hitch a ride on the highway or take a tedious two hour bus ride that oftentimes will not run in the rainy season.

The men all work in agriculture, harvesting either corn or beans, depending on the season. Women generally stay at home to care for the house and family, thus generating no income. The average family earns approximately three dollars a day.

Geographically El Rebelde consists of two caseríos, separated by a 15 minute climb up or down the mountain: El Valle (with ~500 people) and Copinol (with ~150 people). The latter population lives under conditions of severe poverty, terrible even by the standards of the rest of the community.

Of the 23 families that live in Copinol, all of them have ‘bahareque’ shacks made from sticks, mud, and hay with tile roofs and dirt floors. Although 80% of the families have access to electricity, only three are connected to the potable water system from which the upper part of the community drinks. The rest of the families do not have the necessary funds to draw from this supply. Nobody in the caserio has latrines but rather go ‘saliendo por los montes’.

The daily chore of bringing in water is extremely taxing. The only option for the community is to haul water from a small waterfall a kilometer’s walk away on a steep downward trail of dirt and rock. All of the families bathe and wash their clothes there as well.

This is dangerous for two reasons, which are particularly grave during the rainy season from June to December. First of all, the hike to and back from the waterfall is treacherous. It takes approximately 25 minutes both ways, walking at a good pace in decent weather. However, this is often not the case when the trail is turned into mud from the rains of the previous day and an individual is lugging back a large jug of water on her head.

Secondly, the waterfall itself is dangerous because rocks often come crashing down to the surprise of the people bathing underneath. In the past two years, one lady was sent to the hospital because a falling rock landed on her head. She was in a coma for a number of days and surprisingly came back out alive. Since this incident, a number of the community refuses to set foot in the waterfall and people are generally cautious and afraid.

Project Description
The project will be to establish a safe source of water for the entire community of Copinol.

Piping will be installed and run from the water source to a level area approximately 150 meters away, where a communal pila will be constructed. The terrain will be cleared out to make way for a concrete base upon which the pila will be assembled, allowing for safe and easier access.

The pila will be roughly 4 m x 2 m x 1 m, assembled using concrete blocks over the cement base.

Water Charity funds will be used to purchase the materials, including piping and cement, and to pay for transportation of the materials from the nearby town to El Rebelde.

The community will contribute in physical labor and maintenance of the system. All of the men of Copinol have agreed to cooperate in bringing the materials down to the site of the pila along with basic terrain clearing and concrete base laying.

The project will be supported by the El Rebelde ADESCO, which has full legal standing and has cooperated on a number of projects in the past. Piping will be arranged by members of the upper community’s water committee and the entire project will be overseen by the Peace Corps Volunteer.

Project Impact
160 people will benefit from the project.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Alex Wang

Comments
This is an aqueduct project that will bring clean water from a remote source to a convenient place in the community. It will greatly reduce the time that each family must spend and risk that villagers take in collecting water each day.

Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00

Donations Collected to Date
$555.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 - This project has now been fully funded through the generosity of James Berg, of Paradise Valley, AZ, USA.

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