Change: Rehabilitation of 1 school well, Agustina Miranda, Barrio Pedro Joaquin Chamarro, Camoapa, Boaco, Nicaragua. Was: Rehabilitation of 1 well in San Isidro, Camoapa, Boaco, Nicaragua. See details below.
Narrative
As mentioned, the original well in San Isidro was unable to complete due to legalization problems that were taking far to long to put in order. In order to take advantage of the donation, we decided to rehabilitate a different well in Agustina Miranda school as per their request. The town water supply has become contaminated in recent years.
Sustainability
Creating and measuring long-term impact
The school/parent's committee has agreed that each member will pay a quota each month for the well maintenance (10 córdobas (about 50 cents US). This amount will go to the maintenance fund which will be maintained by the treasurer of the potable water committee and will be put into a bank account if it reaches 1,500 córdobas (U$82). El Porvenir will assist the community in opening a bank account if necessary.
Other Issues
Unusual and unexpected issues faced during project execution
After project construction, water project communities are invited to participate in reforestation. Those who want to do so will develop seedling nurseries in Jan-March, transplant in the rainy season May-June, and maintain the plantations under barbed wire fence and "no burn" protection for three years minimum. Reforestation project includes construction of fuel-saving, smoke-free stoves in the homes of the best reforestation participants (and eventually others). Community health educators will visit all projects after construction to teach hygience (handwashing e.g.) and encourage ongoing maintenance and repair of all projects, strengthen local committees, etc.
In order to measure the impact of our projects, we collect data several times a year from clinics serving rural districts where we have a high concentration of projects: number of visits due to diarrhea, etc. As the number decreases we feel that hygiene education has been effective.
For further information, please review our web site: http://www.elporvenir.org
Learnings
Knowledge of project and process for sharing
In this case, the project staff should have checked on the legal situation before moving forward and requesting funds. However, the community had told the staff that the situation was in hand, and the legalization was in progress - unfortunately, it is still in progress as we report here. We do not authorize any projects unless the land title is legalized in the name of the community (or school).
Legalización -
Nunca desanimarse
Impact
People Impacted: 1327
School Children Getting Water: 1327
Agustina Miranda is a school located in the neighborhood of Pedro Joaquin Chamarro in Camoapa, Boaco. There are 48 teachers and 1279 students according to the school director and El Porvenir field staff. The town water system's water is contaminated, so the school requested help to rehabilitate this old well.
People Getting Other Benefits: 1327
Hygiene education is on-going.
