Project Title: Improving Duplan Methodist School Students’ Health and Sanitation Environment
Implementing partner: Partners in Education Haiti, Kearney, MO and Ecole Methodiste de Duplan
Indicative Budget: USD $16,500
Project duration: 2 months
Coordination & reporting: Orvilus Edome and Jean-Claude Louis
Objectives: To provide clean drinking water and toilettes facilities to Duplan primary school while improving and promoting sanitation at the community level.
Targets: 325 primary school pupils
Justification for the Interventions:
The Duplan Methodist Primary School is almost 100 years old. It used to function inside the church after being housed for a few years at a generous local stakeholder who started it off through providing private lessons to the neediest children. The first building comprising two classrooms and dated back to 1974. It was donated by the philanthropist Raymond Flambert, a Haitian businessman.
Two more classrooms were added, then the hall built so that it could be used both as an auditorium and class rooms. Presently, the school functions from preschool to grade 6 with a capacity of nine [9] classrooms for some 300 pupils.
The school serves all the communities of the 4th section Bellevue Mountain and more. This communal section includes many neighborhoods : Bois Moquette, Malique, Duplan,Boulaille, citron Marlique , Fortin, Lliseau, Mariaman, Glore, passy, Bossier, Mayann, Loiseau etc.
For decades, the school has been functioning without indoor plumbing, but with latrines for the children. It’s true that this area had not suffered from the cholera outbreaks that severely affected Haiti (October 2010), but the hygienic conditions particularly for the young girls are inadequate and continue to pause a risk. The smell coming from the holes is often unbearable when the heat of the day increases.
For years, the school management has been struggling to find the mean to create a healthier and more hygienic environment for the pupils. The conditions and current practices are not helping to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases.
Improving the current outdoors toilettes facilities will help to prevent disease and improve the sanitation situation of the school and community. The current holes will be disinfected and used as a septic pit to allow evacuation. The behavior change communication program and promotion that accompany the improvements will benefit the school and to the entire community. The children will be able to share the hygiene lessons learnt to their family members and other kids in their community.
Activities proposed:
The actual holes will be replaced by 2 sanitary blocks with three toilets for the girls’ bathroom while two and a urinal will be included in the boys’ bathroom. Tiles will be installed to make cleaning easier for the janitor.
Two sinks will be installed outside to allow children to wash their hands.
Installation of small fountains/water kiosks to provide potable water to children. The water will provided or delivered by truck through a specialized water company. We will build a small powered solar system to purify the water. It will be double filtered, fit and suitable for consumption. A portion of the water will be sold to generate some income for the school and the community. These funds will be managed by the local committee for maintenance and repair of the system when needed. The small fees collected will support the management of the school.
A behavior change communication program and Education activities to prevent cholera diarrhea prevention and basic hygiene (how to use WC) and how to prevent COVID19 will be carried out in all the classes. A nurse from the onsite and outpatient clinic will provide assistance with this. She will train a small pool of students (9 classrooms presidents or delegates) and she will assist them in replicating the training for the entire primary school.
Final assessment
A 5 minutes video will be done as final assessment to demonstrate the impact of the project for fundraising purpose including the testimonies of beneficiaries.